


Amarte es un Placer

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-20
Updated: 2018-01-20
Packaged: 2019-03-07 01:16:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 33,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13423638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: You and Draco share each mark, bruise, and marring on your skin. As life progresses and each mutual marking is worse, you grieve for your hurting soulmate. And he steps into your life when you least expect it.





	Amarte es un Placer

Like every other human being inhabiting this planet, you were born connected to an individual. One person that would look at you and see their world. One who would hold you like they’d never hold anything more precious for as long as they lived. One who would love you with passion and fire that eternally hungered for more.

There were no signs as to who this certain person was. You only had marks on your skin, marks that whenever he got, you got. It also worked the other way around and you found that you were extremely careful about this. You didn’t want him to get bruises and feel pain because of you. Yet that same thought didn’t seem to be in his mind and your life was spent trying to explain this or that mark.

As you grew up, before you turned eleven and followed your family’s footsteps into wizarding school, you only got minor scrapes and cuts. You assumed they were from broom-riding, you could swear you felt the wind batting against your face sometimes, even if you were sitting alone in your room reading a book.

There were times where you’d listen to the radio whilst your dad played the live games of Quidditch and feel excitement for a sport you seldom paid attention to. You’d somehow know every position, root for a certain team, and feel your heartbeat quicken as the game went on.

You felt connected to things you wouldn’t give a second thought to, foods you thought you loathed. Sometimes, you’d wake up in the middle of the night covered in cold sweat and chest heaving and you’d send as many happy thoughts to him as you could, hoping they’d help somewhat.

Fantasies pertaining your soulmate were a common thing.  You’d imagine him to look a thousand and one ways, from having brown eyes to long, curly blond hair. Sometimes, he’d have dark skin and a beautiful smile. Others, his skin would be pale and alabaster-like, his hair dark as the night.

Curiosity ate relentlessly at you. You’d venture into the streets on your own and away from your parents, in search of him. You’d try to see if you could catch a glimpse of him, share one or two words. But your parents would soon find you and chastise you for wandering away. Your father would give you a knowing smile and later that night, he’d narrate to you how he’d been so excited to look for your mom that he almost got ran over by a car once, eager to cross the street and see if the pretty girl with the big, blue bow was her.

You raised a curious brow and asked if that had been your mother. He shook his head, wearing a smile that showcased years of love and affection. It hadn’t been her. Your mom would make her presence known to him until they turned twenty, cussing him out after he grabbed the last available book on a certain subject in the college library. You giggled and let him tuck you into bed, his lips pressing a kiss to your forehead, wishing you pleasant dreams. And advising you to be patient.

“He will show up right on time, princess,” he told you. And you felt reassured, cocooning yourself in his promises and falling asleep quickly.

When you turned 16, the world became much darker. You couldn’t explain the fear clutching at you, the dread threatening to suffocate, and the pressure suddenly hunching your shoulders. There was nothing in your life that gave you reason to feel this way and you’d find yourself shedding tears for that boy who was hurting wherever he was.

A dark, sinister tattoo appeared on your inner left forearm during the summer. You’d finger it curiously and wonder why he’d get such a nasty thing. It seemed to be a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth and it made shivers run down your spine. You did your best to hide it, but often forgot about it and soon, you had captured the attention of your parents.

They asked a dozen questions, but you had no explanation for them. This seemed to be your soulmate’s doing and you swore to them that you hadn’t snuck out and gotten tattooed on a whim. They were inclined to believe you once you explained it to them for the hundredth time and you sighed in relief at the fact that you had evaded being grounded.

Yet the dread persisted to cloud your thoughts and you couldn’t help but to feel anxious for the man you would one day come to love. Despite being miles away from him, you could still feel an echo of his emotions and he seemed to be going through so much. You wanted nothing more than to take him into your arms and shield him from it all, tell him that if he was with you he’d be alright.

One morning, you woke up to searing, hot pain coursing through you. Your roommates screamed as the stench of blood reigned over the room and you looked down at yourself, deep and horrible cuts piercing across your torso.

 Your cries were high-pitched and laced with terror. The school nurse was soon by your side, a series of spells leaving her lips as you tried not to faint on your bed. But the darkness ended up overwhelming you and panicked screeches were the last thing you heard before you gave in to the nothing that had forcibly taken you into its arms.

A day later, you woke up to the white rooms of the school’s hospital, bandages encasing your ribcage and stomach. Wincing slightly as you tried to sit up. The nurse tutted at you, ordering you to stay still as she waved her wand over you, assessing your health.

You were cleared from there within a few hours and the bandages were removed a week later. By then, it seemed like your soulmate had received proper treatment and you greatly wished you could ask him what was wrong, comfort him, and be there for him the way you had seen other soulmates depend on each other.

“Why don’t you write on your skin with your quill?” said your best friend to you one day.

You only widened your eyes at her. She laughed.

“Quill. Ink. Your skin. He probably will be able to see it.”

“You’re a genius!”

She winked and turned back to her homework, glad to help. You hugged her tightly before telling her you’d be in your room, with the self-filling quill your parents had given you as a back to school gift. Closing the curtains around your bed, you sat cross-legged in the middle of your mattress and grabbed your quill. Biting your lip, you thought long and hard on what you’d say. This would be the first time you’d be communicating with him after all.

You settled for something simple.

_Hi_.

You wrote it neatly on your forearm, right next to the tattoo he had gotten that you knew you were never going to warm up to. Sometimes, you’d daydream about telling him off, ask what was wrong with him when he got it. But those were thoughts for some other time and you focused on the two-letter greeting that was now staring back at you, almost taunting.

Your heart beat wildly in your chest, a hummingbird that seemed to never stop. You you’re your gaze on your arm, blinking only when it was necessary and your heartbeat skipped as you noticed that the writing was disappearing, as if someone was washing it off.

A large smile threatened to split your lips as you cradled your forearm close to you, eagerly waiting for his reply.

However, it never came. The ink was only washed away and every other subsequent message you wrote as well. Your stomach felt like lead and you felt the tears sting at your eyes.

You had done nothing wrong. You were sure of that. You were sure you already loved him, even without knowing who he was. Yet he didn’t deem you worthy enough to dignify you with a response.

Finally, you decided to write one last message and if he didn’t reply to that one, you’d give up on him. You _were_ setting yourself up for heartbreak, you knew that. And you could only scoff at this. These things could only happen to you. After all, soulmate stories were always happy ones. But not yours. It was never you who won at something.

_I am here for you, soulmate. Even if you don’t want me around._

Taking a deep breath, you averted your eyes away from the still-wet ink and laid back on your pillows. Draping your other arm on your eyes. You didn’t want to be let down, but you knew you had set yourself up for disappointment.

A few minutes went by in silence, your refusal to look down at the scribbled words slowly wore down until you couldn’t help it and your eyes flitted downwards.

The ink had been washed off and you felt disappointment sting harshly at your chest, making your breaths hurt a bit. You bit the inside of your cheek to stop yourself from crying. You wouldn’t shed tears for someone you didn’t know.

Just as you were about to get out of bed and go search for your friends, ask them to cheer you up for the rest of the day, blank ink seemed to be spilled on your skin and your breath hitched, your chest tightening.

Despite it resembling beautiful script, the writing was shaky and the person writing it seemed nervous.

_Leave me alone. Please._

The words seemed to make your world darken, threaten to swallow you whole, and once again you felt tears prick at the back of your eyes.

Your fingers picked up your quill and you wrote out the only question on your mind.

_Why? Please. Please write back to me._

The seconds went by, but you held on to this tiny glimmer of hope that was now staring down at you. The writing hadn’t been erased.

And you couldn’t but smile as you realized that new ink was now being spilled on your skin.

_Because I’m only going to endanger your life. Please, forget about me._

You shook your head. _Never._

The words were washed away and you felt a surge of anger and frustration pour into you. Yet it felt foreign and you realized that he was the one feeling these things. On the other hand, you were feeling yearning for him, wanting nothing more than to comfort him. And you knew that he was probably feeling your emotions as well.

_Goodbye._

Your heart seemed to cave in on itself and you knew you were crying. The sobs were unstoppable and the hurt relentless.

Your friends found you minutes later, drawn to you by your cries. They cradled you in their arms, rocking back and forth and swearing to hurt the one person that wasn’t supposed to do such a preposterous thing.

You tried your hardest to forget him after this. Knew that he’d only bring you heartache and disenchantment. Despite everyone around you finding their loves, you remained by yourself and told yourself that you were enough.

Yet half of your world was missing and you knew you’d be there for him if he decided to one day look for you.

 

Looking out across the city, Draco took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Winter had just ended, giving way to a warmth that he hadn’t felt in years. Finally, it felt like his life was falling into place, that he was being redeemed of his past sins, that he’ll be able to move on from the ill-advised choices he had been forced to make while growing up.

He looked down at his covered forearm, the one who never saw the sun unless he was without company. He closed his eyes and shook away the dark thoughts. Even if Harry Potter himself had testified in his trials and had become one of his closest friends these past few years, that didn’t deter some people from looking at Draco with hatred and scorn in their eyes.

No longer did he walk with pride and elegance. His gait was that of a man troubled, one who didn’t want to remember details that had been haunting him even to this day, visited him during the late hours of the night.

Draco’s head turned towards the front door as a knock resounded through his flat. He had moved into Muggle London almost two years ago. Mostly to get away from his overbearing parents, Draco knew he needed the independence and had fallen in love with Muggles, despite having been raised to detest them and everything they stood for.

“Mate, open the door!”

Draco smiled at the sound of Ron Weasley’s voice. He guessed Harry Potter had tagged along and adopted a bored look as he went and opened the door for them.

“You know,” he drawled out. “There’s always the Floo for you to utilize it.”

Ron rolled his eyes. “I know, but Harry wanted to walk. Something about bloody exercise.”

Draco couldn’t hold back the bark of laughter, which made both Harry and Ron chuckle. But his face soon fell as he took in their outfits. Tattered jeans and t-shirts threatening to come apart from too much usage. He groaned. No matter how much he tried to dissuade them, they never stopped wearing these hideous clothes, opting to make fun of Draco for choosing to dress himself in fancy garbs. 

Before he could make to comment on said horrendous outfits, the Floo rang and the men turned their heads towards Draco’s chimney. Out of the green flames stepped out none other than Hermione Granger, accompanied by Pansy Parkinson.

The two women couldn’t have been any more different, yet they got along quite spectacularly. Once they had learned to see past their distinct views, the girls were two peas in a pod and it was quite a pain in the arse spending time with the two of them together. Neither of the three men dare faced them alone.

“Very well,” Pansy spoke out once greetings had been exchanged. She looped her arm through Harry’s and they shared a smile. Hermione sidled up by Ron’s side and Draco’s mood significantly soured at this sight. Once again, he was the odd man out.

It had been quite a scandal to everyone once the war ended and Harry and Pansy finally put the pieces together and discovered they were soulmates. Even though both sides of the party fervently opposed this, Harry and Pansy continued to be drawn to each other until they realized that one couldn’t live without the other. And the rest had been history.

On the other hand, Ron and Hermione had always known and they’d been inseparable since their first year at Hogwarts.

Draco envied them all. He even envied his parents. Lucius, despite his cold demeanor, harbored nothing but love and great affection for Narcissa. Their love radiated from within whenever they were together and it made Draco sick once he began to yearn for his own soulmate.

He had briefly spoken to her. Through words written on skin. But that had been in the middle of his trials and he didn’t want to have to worry for her when he had to look out for his own freedom.

Now that things had calmed down and he was somewhat happy, as happy as he could be without half of his world present, he knew that he should look for her, apologize for causing her the hurt he had felt that day. But he didn’t want to perturb her more than he already had. He could feel her emotions towards him. Indifference and almost-scorn. She had shielded herself from him because he had hurt her.

This thought kept Draco up at night. He knew that he’d walk all over anyone if it meant getting something he really wanted. But _her_. He could not hurt her and he had. This made his chest tighten and threaten to concave.

His haze was soon broken as Pansy snapped her fingers in his face. “Earth to Draco!” she screeched.

Draco blinked and masked the surprise in his expression with boredom. “Don’t be so loud, Pansy.”

She scowled at this and Harry laughed, leaning towards her to press a kiss to her cheek. Draco felt a pang of jealousy before chasing it away.

“Let’s go!” Hermione piped up. “I made reservations for eight and it’s ten minutes from!”

“Where are we going?” questioned Draco.

“The new place that opened in Diagon Alley,” replied Harry. “The girls have been wanting to try it for a while now.”

Draco groaned quite audibly and four pair of eyes looked at him in surprise. He shook his head. “I refuse to be the odd man out,” he declared. “People will look at me and feel pity. ‘Look at the poor bloke, third wheeling with his happy, couple-y friends.’ Absolutely not. You can all go.”

“Draco, don’t be so dramatic,” said Pansy with a roll of her eyes.

“Yeah, mate, you won’t be the third wheel,” said Ron. “There’s four of us. You’ll be the fifth wheel.”

Draco shot him a seething glare, but Ron was too busy laughing and sharing a fist bump with Harry to care. Draco promised himself to work on his intimidating skills. They had become quite rusty since he started hanging around this lot. Even Pansy had lost her mean edge. They had become more Gryffindors than he could have ever fathomed while he was attending Hogwarts and the thought made him shiver.

“What’s wrong now?” asked Pansy in a slightly whiney voice. She had seen the obvious shiver go through Draco’s frame.

“I’m just imagining myself walking into that place with you all, receiving all those pitying looks,” he said, pretending to shiver again for shock value. “Merlin! No, I will not go through that.”

“Oh, tone down the dramatics, Malfoy!” spat out Hermione. Draco scoffed. She only called him by his last name nowadays when she was truly aggravated with him. “We’re going to lose our reservation!”

“I am not going!”

“Yes, you bloody well are!”

“No!”

“Yes!”

Draco shook his head and spun around his heel, disapparating right on the spot. He’d deal with that lot later.

He turned towards the Leaky Cauldron and sped towards him, afraid that his friends would be hot on his heels. Ducking through the door, he glanced around and smiled at Hannah Abbott, who was in the middle of serving a few glasses of butterbeer to customers.

“No friends today?” she asked, looking around for the usual company.

“Not tonight,” he replied, sitting down on one of the bar stools. “I am not up to being the odd man out this time around.”

“I’m sure that’s not their intention,” she said sweetly.

Draco smiled at her, only for his expression to fall as Neville Longbottom stepped behind the bar and walked over to Hannah, pecking her cheek. She radiated happiness as soon as he touched her and Draco groaned, thumping his head down on the bar counter.

Neville snorted. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I can’t escape all of this sappy nonsense,” Draco wailed, his voice muffled by the wood beneath his face.

Neville had the audacity to laugh. “Then get yourself a girlfriend, mate. Or a boyfriend. I mean, whichever rocks your boat.”

Draco lifted his head up to glare at Neville. Back in school, a glare from him would have scared the entire living crap out of Neville, but the man only chuckled.

“Want some firewhiskey?”

Draco was about to enthusiastically accept, but Hannah smacked the back of her hand against Neville’s chest. “No!”

“Why not?”

“He’s already miserable! You will not get him drunk and then have him suffer a hangover tomorrow.”

“He needs a few drinks, dear!”

“I’m sitting right fucking here,” pointed out Draco, raising his eyebrows at them.

Neville rolled his eyes as Hannah declared that she was going to bring him a plate of her famous shepherd’s pie. As she stepped away towards the kitchen, Neville leaned towards Draco and whispered conspiratorially. “I’ll sneak you a few shots,” he promised.

“Thanks, Neville,” mumbled Draco.

Just as she had said, Hannah was soon presenting Draco with a large portion of her shepherd’s pie. Draco ate until the very last crumb as she watched with a smile on her face. The girl was a mother hen and Draco was too tired to brush away her attentions.

Meanwhile, Neville managed to get away with giving Draco two shots of firewhiskey before Hannah caught him. By now, Draco had a pleasant buzz going on and he waved Neville’s apologies away.

There was a warmth in his stomach and he felt quite pleasant. Getting on his feet, he approached Hannah to pay for what he had eaten, but she waved him off. “It’s on the house,” she said, voice tender. Draco was quite surprised when she hugged him, but he hugged back promptly and gave her a soft smile.

“Take care of yourself, Draco.”

“I will. Thank you.”

He left after waving good night at Neville and tapped the bricks with his wand. The archway appeared and he stepped into Diagon Alley.

Wary of his surroundings, Draco was on full alert, knowing his friends had a chance of spotting him. He hunched his shoulders and tucked his hands into his front pockets. Not only did he not want to face his happy, paired off friends, but some strangers were still suspicious of him.

No matter what Draco did to try to redeem himself, how much money he donated to different post-war efforts, nor how much time he publicly spent in Harry Potter’s company as one of his closest friends, people still saw a Death Eater when they saw him.

Turning about the corner, Draco was heading towards the Quidditch shop to pass the time for a bit before heading home when he heard a commotion.

A few people were shouting at the top of their lungs and even threatening to punish someone. Feeling an unexplainable pull, Draco lifted his head and furrowed his brow.

Everything would become clear to him in a few days, but for now, Draco couldn’t begin to fathom what tugged him forward and elbow through the crowd until he arrived to the center.

There was a teary-eyed woman around Draco’s ago, cowering and folding in on herself, cradling her left arm to her chest as more than a few witches and wizards hissed horrible things at her.

“You have no right to be here, you filthy little Death Eater,” an elderly witch snapped at her before spitting at the ground.

The girl winced and Draco felt protective of her. He strode over to her and before either of them could say anything else, wrapped his arms around her and disapparated right there and then.

 

The Floo rang and you heard your mom’s voice travel to your room. “Lucille is here!”

You got on your feet, dropping the clothes you were folding to open your bedroom door. Your best friend was already there, a wide smile spread across her pretty face and you grinned, embracing her tightly before releasing her and pulling her with you into your room.

She glanced at the mess you had and scoffed. “You have a wand, you know? You can literally wave it and have everything packed.”

“I know,” you said with a shrug. “But I like packing everything without magic. Relaxes me.”

“You are such a no-maj sometimes,” she muttered. You grinned and got back on your knees to finish folding your shirts.

Your suitcase was already half packed and you just had to go through your checklist one more time before everything was set and you’d be on your way to London.

Your parents had gifted you this trip after your graduation from college. They felt it’d be nice for you to see another city that wasn’t your own and you had always expressed your desire to one day visit London. Wizarding London didn’t hold as much of your interest as the No-Maj section did, but you knew you’d end up visiting both sides eventually.

Lucille helped you pack the rest of your things up before her wand swept across the room and your mess soon disappeared, every little thing finding their original spot. You rolled your eyes. She was never the patient one.

“What?” she huffed out. “The mess was annoying me and you were going to take too long to clean it up.”

You looked at her with your brows raised. “Do you wanna talk about something?”

“Wow! How nice of you to notice!”

You snorted, letting her lead you to your bed. The two of you sat down facing each other as Lucille squealed quite loudly and began to tell you the one thing she had been itching to tell you since she had arrived.

Lucille had met her soulmate.

You swallowed thickly. The moment bittersweet for you.

You were happy for her. You truly were. You hugged her close to you and kissed her cheek, expressing your excitement for her, telling her you were eager to meet the one person that completed her.

Lucille went on to gush about said witch. Apparently, they had crossed paths in the amusement park, which Lucille was visiting while she was on vacation with her family.

The connection had been instantaneous and they had been inseparable since.

“We’ve literally not separated until now,” she told you. “Because I wanted to tell you first before bringing her over.”

“Oh! What’s her name?” you asked.

“Maila,” she answered. And you could see the elation in her eyes. Lucille finally felt complete and it made you want to cry for yourself.

You wanted to feel like this, but alas, this had been denied to you the moment your soulmate had told you he wanted nothing to do with you.

Lucille noticed this and she bit her bottom lip before her arms winded around your frame and she gave you a tight hug. “I’m sorry about _him_ ,” she said softly.

_He_ usually wasn’t talked about, never mentioned, a sort of taboo subject. You didn’t want the hurt surfacing and knew that if your thoughts dwelled on him too much, you’d break down like the last time you had tried talking to him over five years ago.

You shook your head and pulled away from her with a tiny, half-assed smile on your lips. “It’s okay. I’m… I’m glad I got this trip to go to. I don’t want to think about him.”

“Then he’s forgotten!” she declared, getting on her feet and pulling you up with her. You laughed as she dragged you out of your room and towards the Floo, letting your parents know that you’d be out for the night. Your parents waved and told you to be safe before you disappeared amidst green flames.

The following morning, after your mom had made sure you had everything and had given you over a dozen kisses, you shrunk your luggage and put it inside your purse. Your parents accompanied you to where you were going to be portkey-ing to England and you hugged them a few more times before it was time to leave.

Within an instant, you were glancing around a whole new world and you found yourself in the middle of Wizarding London.

The weather was relatively warm and you shrugged out of your cardigan, draping it over your right forearm.

You left the tattoo revealed. Being that it had never been a source of trouble for you back at home, you didn’t think twice about showing it here. It had become part of you by now. You had somewhat warmed up to it, the only reminder of your soulmate you had that didn’t bring a bad feeling to your stomach like the scars on your torso did.

You turned about the corner and came to a long lane called Diagon Alley. You shared a smile with an elderly witch who was selling trinkets in front of a shop that sold wands. Looking around, you had a feeling that this place had seen darker days. There were some empty shops here and there, but it looked like it was in the middle of being renovated with new places.

A restaurant to your left announced its grand opening and you curiously looked at the menu before you glanced up at movement to your right side. Two couples were approaching the establishment, lively talk going on between them. Your eyes met that of a man with bright green eyes behind a pair of glasses. He gave you a polite smile before he turned to the woman next to him. She was beautiful and you saw their twin scars on their foreheads. The shape of lightning. They were soulmates.

They were accompanied by another pair whose hands were linked. He had fiery red hair and freckles. Taller than everyone else in the group, he was lanky but you noticed the muscle beneath the clothes he was wearing. The woman next to him had curly hair that cascaded down her back.

Blinking, you realized you were staring and snapped your head back at the menu, biting the inside of your cheek and hoping that they hadn’t seen you ogling them. You couldn’t explain why you did that, only that you felt drawn to them.

Shaking your head, you spun on your heel and continued on your way, not realizing that the curly-haired woman had nudged the green-eyed man with the lightning scar. Her face was concerned as she whispered something into his ear. He was making to follow you, but was quickly stopped by the beautiful girl next to him. She shook her head, complaining that it wasn’t time for him to investigate anything. This was their date!

You went on to explore the stores, entering one that looked particularly inviting to your inner-kid. _Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes_ was located in Number 93 Diagon Alley and made you smile as soon as you spotted the lively place.

A tall, happy man greeted you as you stepped inside. He had red hair that resembled that of the man you had seen entering the restaurant.

“Welcome to Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes!” he bellowed, arms raised high in the air.

You greeted him with a wide smile before you glanced around, in awe of everything around you. You didn’t even know where to look and tried to remember if there was anything like this back at home. You’d had never left the place if there had been.

“Anything you’re looking for in particular, miss?” the man asked, knocking you out of your awed daze.

Your gaze fell on him again and you shook your head. “No, just looking. Thank you!”

He noticed the way you spoke and grinned. “Not from around here?”

“No. First time in England, actually.”

He nodded. “Well, anything you need, I’m here.”

You didn’t notice his eyes flitting down to your arm and his smile fall just a bit. Your eyes were too busy taking in everything the shop had to offer. From Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder to Love Potions, it had it all. If only you had some of these things at your disposition in order to skip a few classes back when you attended school.

The man who worked there was soon being joined by another man who looked exactly like him. You shared a smile with him before you focused back on a product called _Extendable Ears_. You made a mental note to come back to the shop and purchase more than a few of these things and take them back home with you. They would come in handy.

Saying goodbye to the men at the counter, you were oblivious to the glance they shared as you stepped out of the store.

You turned to continue exploring and were about to enter the Quidditch shop when you were yanked to a stop by an older woman. Her hand gripped your left elbow tightly, almost vice-like and you couldn’t help but wince in pain before making to pull away.

She hissed at you before grabbing her wand from somewhere inside her robes and pointing it at you. “You have no right to be here!” she screeched.

You took a step back, only to bump into a wizard who had taken his place firmly behind you. His eyes were cold as you stared into them and you cowered away from him. Your hand began to inch towards your purse where you kept your wand before that same witch grabbed your left wrist and pulled at your arm.

Her eyes were trained on your tattoo and there was pure hatred in her eyes. “You should be dead!” she bellowed.

“Excuse me?” You had found your voice and despite it being shaky, you managed to glare at her.

She pointed her wand threateningly at your arm. “Death Eater scum,” she spat out, vitriol in her voice. “You shouldn’t be here!”

By now, a crowd had gathered around you and most of them bore loathing in their expression. You began to fold in on yourself and pulled your arm close to your chest, keeping your tattoo hidden from their eyes. Had you known where you could apparate to, you would have done so. Fear gripped tightly at you as voices began to shout horrible things at you.

“You have no right to be here, you filthy little Death Eater,” the same witch snapped at you before spitting at the ground.

The next few seconds were a blur as you saw a pale-blond figure approach you. You didn’t have a chance to look up at his face before a chest was pressed up against you and everything disappeared.

You felt momentarily nauseous before stepping away from the frame of the man who had apparently apparated you to another place and you looked around.

It seemed to be an apartment, but before you could explore more of your surroundings, you grabbed your cardigan and quickly put it on, wrapping it around your frame protectively.

“T-Thank you,” you said in a shaky voice. Your eyes glanced up to meet his and you felt a pull like no other.

The walls you had put around yourself seem to crack under the sheer force of his gaze and you sobbed, unable to stop the sound from escaping your throat.

You met him halfway, his arms wrapping around you as the tears seemed unstoppable. His hand rose to cradle your head as your face pressed against his chest.

You cried for a few more minutes, the man’s other hand rubbing your back comfortingly yet you could sense that he was also hurting and you briefly wondered if it was because you were suddenly good at reading people.

Pulling away from each other, the man gave you a tiny, sweet smile. “Sorry,” he spoke, a voice that washed over you like a soothing balm. “I didn’t know where you lived and it was best to get you out of there. This is my place. But you can leave anytime you want to. Or I can make tea. Whichever you want.”

You chuckled at his rambling and his cheeks flushed vivid red, reaching up to his ears. His expression went cold for a second before a smile cracked through and he gave a soft laugh.

“Tea is fine,” you said, your voice still a little shaky.

He nodded. “Very well. You can take a seat if you want,” he said, voice polite and almost posh as he gestured towards a sofa just a few feet behind you.

“Thanks.”

He shot you one last smile before disappearing towards a room you assumed was the kitchen.

He was back within a minute, a steaming mug in his hands. He set it down on the coffee table and slid it over to you. “Let it steep for just a bit,” he said before taking a seat. He held his hand out. “My name is Draco. Draco Malfoy.”

You took his offered hand and felt a surge of electricity go through you. He seemed to feel the same as you both pulled away with wide eyes. There was a moment of silence before he laughed, apparently trying to brush off the awkwardness.

You smiled and told him your name. He repeated it and you thought it was one of the most beautiful sounds you had ever heard. You felt an inexplicable pull to this man and you partly blamed it on his beauty.

Almost-white blond hair framed a pale face with bow-shaped lips and grey eyes. High cheekbones and a sharp nose, your eyes wandered down to his jaw, which seemed to have been sculpted by Michael Angelo himself. He was tall and you could see the lithe muscles beneath the beautiful suit he was wearing. He had divested himself of his robes before walking into the kitchen.

A crooked smile, almost a smirk, appeared on his lips and you realized you had been blatantly goggling at him. Clearing your throat, your gaze fell on your lap before you turned your head to look at the mug. You picked it up, wrapping your fingers around the delicate ceramic and brought it up to your lips.

The man, or Draco, as he had told you his name was, cleared his throat. “How are you feeling?”

You took a sip and hissed at the heat, tapping your finger on the rim of the cup and performing a wandless spell that cooled down the liquid to a bearable temperature. He looked a bit concerned at your display of hurt but visibly relaxed once you took a second sip and made no face.

“I’m better,” you replied to his previous question. “Thank you.”

He shook his head. “It’s no problem.”

You smiled at this and your eyes flitted down to your cup. You had half a mind to chug it all down and make your way out of this man’s place. It was quite awkward and you were at a loss at what to say.

He cleared his throat, _again_. You could feel the nervousness he was feeling, it was almost palpable and it made you feel affection towards him. “Y-Your accent,” he said, unsure if it was the right thing to say. “You’re not from here?”

You shook your head. “I just arrived,” you informed him. “It’s my first time here in England.”

“Ah,” he nodded. He asked where you were from and you told him, to which he expressed his eagerness in one day visiting.

From there, the words between you flowed almost too easily and you discovered that Draco was around your age. He was raised solely in the Wizarding world and hadn’t discovered the No-Maj one until later in life. He called it the Muggle world and you wrinkled your nose at how weird it sounded. He laughed and told you No-Maj sounded even weirder, which spurred on a playful argument on which one it sounded better. You agreed to disagreed.

An hour passed before you declared it was time to leave. You didn’t want to and you thought you saw the same hesitation in Draco’s eyes, but brushed it off as you getting too involved in this man you barely knew.

You gave him a smile and thanked him for everything he had done. He nodded, telling you it was absolutely no problem.

As you were turning to walk towards the front door, you remembered that you had no idea where you were. You turned around to ask Draco for directions and failed to notice the coffee table right behind you.

Your knee banged hard against the wood and you yelped out in pain, Draco’s voice echoing yours. His hand flew down to his knee and he slumped down on the sofa, rubbing at the same place you were now hurting. Your eyes widened and you realized what had just happened.

Draco seemed oblivious to this as he focused solely on the pain coursing through both of your knees, his face pulled into a scowl.

“D-Draco?” you called out to him, hoping this could grab his attention.

Draco looked up at you, but he didn’t seem to have caught on to what was happening. So, you did the first thing that popped up in your mind. You pinched the sensitive inner part of your right forearm, hard.

Draco cried out in pain as you cringed.

Yet his hurt expression soon melted away to reveal realization and your worlds came to a screeching halt.

 

It was frozen. You were sure time would be immobile for the rest of your existence, as Draco didn’t move a muscle and you mimicked his lack of movement. You had been the one to reach out for him, always. Back when you had written on your skin, right now when you realized that you had been in the company of your soulmate for the last hour. It had been _you_ to take that first step.

And you realized that it’d kill you if you reached out to him again and he rejected you. Again. The ball was in his court now. It was all up to him. Your sanity, dignity, and whether your heart was going to be broken or not, it all rested in Draco’s hands.

It had always been like this. He had always had you. Ever since you had grown up and realized what soulmates were, how much they meant to an individual, and that you had one, Draco had had you eating out of the palm of his hand, even if neither of you were aware of it. You had been his from your first breath.

But it didn’t seem like it was that way for Draco. And it killed you to even contemplate the fact that you had finally found each other and he’d discard you, not want to have anything to do with you.

Your thoughts had taken you captive, but the room seemed to revive itself as Draco finally moved. He got on his feet and walked over to you. It was all in slow motion, his arms rising, his blank expression morphing into concern as he got closer to you.

He was beautiful. His pale-blond hair, grey eyes, and sharp cheekbones. All hard edges and lithe muscles. And you were just you.

You blinked and felt the tears against your cheeks. You had been crying. You had already been mourning your separation from him.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, voice quiet, almost-feeble, scared. You shook your head and buried your face in your hands, unable to speak, to voice out your fears.

Draco didn’t demand anything more from you. He didn’t ask for more words, for explanations. Instead, his arms wrapped around you and you felt something loosen in your chest. Suddenly, you felt lighter, standing there in his arms, feeling as if every decision, step, and breath in your life had brought you here. And it couldn’t have felt more right.

Somehow, the moment shifted and Draco’s fingers cupped your chin, bringing your face to look at him instead of being buried against his neck. Had you known him better, you’d have felt sorry for dampening his pristine clothes with your tears and snot. Draco wasn’t fond of tainting his clothes in such a fashion. But to him, that didn’t matter.

Draco’s world had tilted and shaken itself. He had been shattered to the core and reconstructed in the span of a single second. His purpose to continue fighting, to be seen as someone who was more than a former Death Eater, to go against the beliefs he had been raised with, it all morphed into a single entity here. In this very spot.

And Draco realized that his world, his life and his purpose were all anchored in the person now in his arms.

He gave you a tender smile, his long, delicate fingers against your chin, thumb tapping softly as he let his eyes wander from your sad gaze down to your lips. You mirrored his gesture and Draco smirked, the mood inside the room shifting immediately.

“I am not going anywhere,” he said. It was a promise, a pact that made you breathe easier again and you let out a breathy laugh.

He grinned and _Merlin!_ He was ethereal.

His head leaned forward and his lips found yours. Like two pieces of the same puzzle, like a whole person split in two halves coming back together again after years of separation, Draco kissed you with everything he had. And you didn’t hesitate to pour out every ounce of yourself in that same kiss.

His lips were soft and warm, each kiss long and deep. Your arms snaked around his neck, ruffled through his hair and mussed it up. But Draco didn’t care one bit as he held you, pulled you closer to himself, his body pressed tightly against your own.

This. This was why he had done everything to survive. This was why he had continued to live even when everything was dark around him, when the thoughts were looming over him, the guilt threatening to drown him alive.

You. You. You. It was all you. You were his sun, the center of his gravity. And he had done it all for you. Tingles curled around his spine and traveled all throughout his body as you scraped your nails against his scalp, caressed the back of his neck, roamed across his shoulders. It was like you were hungry to touch every bit of him and Draco found he felt the same way.

Pulling away from each other with kiss-swollen lips and heaving chests, you both laughed as you looked at each other. Hair tussled and clothes in disarray.

Draco didn’t usually do this. He didn’t sleep with anyone upon barely meeting them. But you. _You_ were it. You were the pinnacle of his existence and he knew he’d rather die a million times over than deprive himself of you for one more second.

His hand reached for yours, fingers interlacing and he cleared his throat, feeling suddenly awkward. It was a far cry from his usually-proud self. And if his friends were around, they’d surely give him shit for this.

He bit his bottom lip and gave you a shy smile. He was about to ask you to accompany him to his room, but there was no way to ask. It’d be awkward and probably ruin the mood. He couldn’t find the words.

So, he settled for claiming your lips in another deep kiss. Your eyes fluttered closed and Draco breathed you in, his arms once again full of you. And it was all he wanted to do for as long as he lived.

Just stand in the middle of his common room and kiss you, savor you, drink you all in.

Your hands began to explore beyond his shoulders and pectorals, traveled under his vest and dress shirt. The fabric was an unwanted barrier and chanting wandless magic against Draco’s lips, you undid every single last button on him with a flick of your wrist.

Draco groaned, feeling himself twitch in his pants. The spell being whispered against his lips felt far more erotic than he had thought it’d be, even if it was a mundane, wandless spell he knew himself. The feel of your breath against his lips, the way you effortlessly performed the magic despite being distracted by Draco’s hands roaming all over your body, it turned Draco on more than he thought and he let his hands drop down to your backside.

You gasped as he grabbed your ass, fingers digging into the flesh and pulled you close to him. His stance widened and with strength you didn’t know he possessed, Draco lifted you up into his arms. You were about to complain, tell him to put you down, but Draco gyrated his hips and you felt him hard against the crux of your thighs. Your vision blurred and every ounce of concentration zoomed in on feeling him again. Your hips pumped down on him and Draco moaned loudly into your mouth, his tongue licking against your own.

Before you knew what was happening, Draco was dropping you on a large, four-poster bed. You huffed lightly before laughing as he stood at the foot of the bed, looking down at you with hunger in his eyes. You were reminded of a snake, waiting to strike at the perfect moment. He looked beautiful as he finished shrugging out of his vest and shirt.

Gaze wandering down his pale torso, you inhaled sharply as you recognized the scars on his alabaster skin, the tattoo on his left forearm. Shame flitted across his grey eyes before it was gone and Draco climbed onto the bed, crawling on top of you until he could press his lips to yours.

Your hands flew up to slide down his sides and to the undone button of his dress slacks. You teased the delicate skin there, fingers twiddling against the fine blond hair there. Draco groaned, his hips pushing down on yours.

Your legs widened to accommodate him and your hands stroked his hips and moved towards his ass. You slipped your hands into his pants and cupped the firm buttocks, squeezing and making Draco breathlessly laugh against your mouth.

You grinned and he pulled away to begin kissing across your jaw and down your neck. His tongue darted out once in a while to lick against your skin, tasting you, marking you as his. Draco sucked a patch of skin close to your collarbone and you felt a shuddering moan leave your throat, closely followed by his cock twitching against your hip.

By now, his hands had pushed your blouse up to the bottom of your breasts. Draco pulled away from your clavicle and looked down at you. His breath hitched as he looked at the scars etched on your skin. There was no doubt about who you were now. He remembered getting those scars, bleeding on that bathroom floor with his now-friend, Harry Potter, towering over him. Professor Snape coming to the rescue as Draco tried to breath and remain conscious, the pain and terror surging through him, making his fight even harder.

You cupped his face and brought it up to yours, kissing his lips. Draco had escaped somewhere in his mind and you had felt him immediately withdraw from you as he looked down at your scars.

“It doesn’t matter,” you whispered. “That doesn’t matter right now. You and me, okay? Just you and me.”

Draco sobbed out, a broken and painful cry that tore at your heart, but he kissed back and the kiss tasted of tears.

And you knew what you had to do.

You pushed him back until he was sitting back on his haunches and you could sit up in front of him. You smiled as you shrugged out of your cardigan and the same tattoo he sported on his left arm came to view on your own.

Draco’s breaths shortened at the sight of it and he took your forearm in his two hands, fingers delicate as they held you. His eyes studied the marks, every dark inch, and he couldn’t help the sob from escaping his throat.

He had done this. His wrong choices, his selfishness to survive and not die at the end of Voldemort’s wand had done this, had put that horrible mark on your beautiful skin and had marred your torso with scars that you’d have to live with forever.

“I-I’m sorry,” he croaked out, voice broken.

“N-No, Draco, no.”

But it was too late. The floodgates had opened and Draco sobbed out apologies against your chest, begging your forgiveness.

You shushed him, trying to get him to calm down, holding his head against you, stroking back his hair.

Suddenly, this elegant and straight-backed man seemed but a crying child in your arms and you felt the tears brim over your own eyes. Now that you were both close together, you felt Draco’s emotions tenfold.

And it was excruciating. The guilt, shame, and sorrow that surrounded his entire existence. You wanted nothing more than to erase it all and show him just how beautiful he was.

You barely knew him, but you could recognize everything he was feeling now. After all, you were connected to him, always had been.

Rocking back and forth, you cradled your soulmate in your arms, hands stroking against his skin comfortingly until his sobs ebbed away, leaving behind sniffles and a shuddering Draco.

His hands clung to your shoulders and after almost an hour of crying, he finally pulled away, eyes red-rimmed and cheeks flushed a bright pink.

“I’m sorry,” he offered once again.

You shook your head. “Don’t.” You leaned forward and pressed a firm kiss to his lips, tasting the salty tears there. “Later.”

And like that, you pulled him close to you again and laid back on the bed. Your wand was somewhere on the floor with your cardigan and you wordlessly Accio’d it. Waving it, you silently commanded the sheets to slide from beneath you and wrap around Draco’s frame and yours. Draco’s eyes had shut closed by then, exhaustion framing his expression, and you pressed a kiss to his forehead.

You didn’t know what had happened, what had made him break down that way, but you’d find out soon enough. For now, you’d focus on holding him and try to make his sleep as peaceful as possible by being there. By finally being where you belonged.

Carding fingers through his hair, you lulled him to sleep by humming a lullaby your mother had sung to you growing up. And Draco’s breaths eventually evened out, his body becoming lax against your own.

 

Hours later, Draco was roused by the familiar sound of his Floo ringing. He groaned against your chest, momentarily startled by the unacquainted warmth surrounding him. With squinting eyes, he lifted his head and stared down at your sleeping form.

You barely stirred as he pulled away and Draco found that he couldn’t tear his gaze away from you. The ringing of the Floo continued, but it became white noise to him. He had tunnel vision, solely focused on your features, on taking in every detail that the moonlight peeking through his curtains provided.

His fingers traced your nose and the shape of your lips, you murmured something unintelligible and Draco froze, thinking he had woken you up. But sleep was not letting go of you and Draco continued his quest, his fingertip skirting across your eyelashes before skimming over your eyebrows. You were breathtakingly beautiful and Draco finally recognized the emotions he saw in others’ eyes as he witnessed them looking at their soulmate.

Draco knew, in the very moment, that he’d give his life in exchange for you in a heartbeat, unconditionally and irrevocably. No but’s, no well’s, nothing. He’d stepped up and say yes, just as long to see you alive and well.

His hand skirted down to your jaw and across it, tracing the valley between your clavicles before he let his eyes fall to the scars on your stomach and chest. His breath hitched once again and Draco felt unbidden tears starting to prick. Even if he hadn’t been the ones to put the scars there, his decisions had led him to that breaking point and he had caused this for you.

From your stomach, he glanced over to your left forearm and Draco took the limb in his hands, holding it delicately, as if it was made by glass that could break with a single breath. He felt a deep shiver run through his body and realized it was terror.

He couldn’t even begin to fathom what you had felt when you woke up to find such a terrible mark upon your skin, to see scarring wounds on your torso. And Draco hung his head and let more tears far, shoulders shaking as he cried quietly, hoping that his sobs wouldn’t stir you awake.

With lips wet with his tears, Draco’s head ducked to press open-mouth kisses to the soft, warm skin of your torso. He knew this couldn’t begin to right all the wrongs he had done to the one person he had to protect, but he felt compelled to do so. His lips worked endlessly, re-learning the scars he had gotten to know on his own body after years of washing over them.

Then came the Dark Mark, that mark he had gotten to protect his family from annihilation. It marked the beginning of the darkest, most abysmal days of his lives, when he feared every little thing and tried to play the part of a grown man. But years later, Draco would know, he’d realized that he had been just a boy, a child who had been driven to make all the wrong choices and would be blamed for them for the rest of his existence, no matter what good deeds he did to try to redeem himself.

But as he kissed around the unmarred skin around the ugly thing, Draco knew for a fact that if he had your forgiveness, if he achieved redemption in _your_ eyes, it’d be enough for him, it’d be more than enough for him. His whole world now slept in his bed, something that had seemed unfeasible to him a mere twenty-four hours before.

Draco pressed his ear to your chest and his eyes fluttered closed. His breaths evened out as he listened to the sound of your heartbeat, steady and anchoring him to this very moment, to the present, to the discovery of the one he had been connected to since his birth.

He remained like this until his ears picked up on the sound of footsteps approaching his bedroom. Draco quickly recalled his wand had been left stranded in the middle of his living room and mentally cursed at himself. But from his peripheral vision, he picked up on a stray wand lying right next to your sleeping frame and Draco could only guess it was yours. He grabbed it and pointed at the door, feeling the magic surge through him as if it was his own wand he was holding.

He smiled to himself despite the state of alertness he was in, quiet and still as a snake, waiting to strike if attacked. Despite finding out that he was your soulmate through pain, confirming that it was true because of dreadful scars on your skin, Draco found pleasure in this confirmation. That your wand was also his by extension and it was probably the same case with his wand. It felt familiar and almost warm to the touch. Draco’s fingers wrapped around it delicately as he continued to point at the doorway, eyes twinkling dangerously.

Back in the day, back when the war had just ended and he had thought he’d be safe in his home, far away from the wizarding world and in the middle of the Muggle one, Draco hadn’t put wards around his flat. He had been reckless and for that he had paid dearly.

Intruders had found out where he had lived and they had come in the middle of the night, bringing chaos and terror with them. Wizards that thought he belonged in Azkaban, that he wasn’t worthy of a second chance. Draco had been jerked awake by their loud footsteps, closing down on his bedroom and he barely had a second to grab his wand before they were beating down his door and entering, spewing words of hate as their eyes burned with fiery vitriol.

If it hadn’t been for Draco having some sense left and sending Harry a Patronus, he wouldn’t have survived that night. The men were intent on hurting him and he knew they weren’t going to be careful with their punishment, that it would have brought on his death had it not been for his closest friends. Back then, they had just been acquaintances, but after that night, Draco and Harry struck a deep friendship that had forgiven all the past. In a weird, twisted way, Draco owed those men a thank you.

The steps came closer and Draco’s muscles stiffened, recoiled for an attack before the door swung opened to reveal fiery red hair, messy curls, a high bun, and black, unruly hair. Draco’s eyes widened as his four friends stepped inside his bedroom, worried looks on their faces.

Hermione led the troop, her wand held out in front of them, shining brightly. Surprised etched on her face, she focused on Draco momentarily before they fell on the figure behind him. There was silence before an ear-piercing scream was heard.

Draco startled at the loud sound and spun his body around, his eyes landing on you. You seemed terrified by the sudden intruders and were clutching the sheets around your torso. This made Draco smile, despite him feeling the fear you were experiencing. You were fully dressed, and yet you made to cover yourself in front of these strangers.

You caught on to his amusement and scowled at him, which only made Draco chuckle, leaning towards you and pressing a soft kiss to your nose.

“What in the bloody hell?” Ron’s voice tore through the quiet.

“Draco,” Hermione’s voice drawled out. And Draco wanted to roll his eyes. She was such a mother sometimes. She never let any of them live down the fact that she was older than them all. “Is there something you want to tell us?”

“Yeah, mate,” said Ron with a snort. “Did you ditch us to hook up with a girl? No offense, miss.”

You smiled. Being in harmony with Draco’s emotions, you felt the comfort he was experiencing around these four individuals and you let yourself relax. You could see your wand in Draco’s hand and realized that that didn’t bother you one bit. Somehow you knew that it was as if an extension of yourself was holding it.

“None taken,” you replied to the freckled-face man. You stared at the rest of the quartet and realized that these people were the same from the restaurant and you scoffed, understanding why you felt randomly drawn to them. These were Draco’s closest friends.

“Explain yourself, Draco!” shrieked a pretty girl with her dark hair pulled up in a high, tight bun.

“I don’t owe _any_ of you an explanation!” declared Draco, moving closer to you, as if he was protecting you from their eyes.

Hermione suddenly gasped and her hand flew up to grab Harry’s arm. “Harry,” she said breathlessly. “It’s her. The girl…”

Draco widened his eyes at this. “What are you talking about, Granger?”

“Merlin’s beard!” exclaimed Harry. “You’re Draco’s soulmate!”

“What? How in the bloody fucking hell do you know that?” Ron demanded to know.

“You are so dense sometimes!” said Hermione, although her voice was laced with affection. “Look at their arms!” She had whispered this, but the room had become so quiet that everyone had heard.

Draco cringed, but you smiled. People knew that you were soulmates. You had physical marks to prove it and this made your heart soar. Draco was solely yours and you were Draco’s all alone.

“Yeah, I am his soulmate,” you said in response to their surprise. You told them your name before they all rushed over to the bed and began to introduce themselves.

Draco hung his head in defeat and groaned loudly as Hermione pulled you into a hug before Ron patted your shoulder, Harry shook your hand, and Pansy embraced you tightly.

The two men punched Draco on the shoulder, albeit playfully and teasingly. “Finally, mate!” said Ron. “We thought we’d never see the day!”

“Oh, do shut up!” Draco glared at him.

But Ron’s smile was infectious and you felt a giggle escape your lips. By now, you were sitting next to Draco, legs crossed in front of you. Your head leaned to rest on his shoulder and you smiled as you felt the warm weight of his hand settle on your knee.

“Dare I ask again?” Draco’s voice interrupted the excited exchange of words going on as everyone began to ask you questions.

“Ask what?” questioned Hermione.

“What are you all doing here?”

“Oh!” Harry piped up. “You didn’t answer the Floo. So, I thought something was wrong. And when I said I’d come in and check up on you, everyone joined in.”

“You are all insufferable,” said Draco. “Coming in the middle of the night! Who does that? I’m not a child, for Merlin’s sake!”

“Well, Neville told us you left the Leaky all tipsy, we wanted to make sure you were fine,” said Hermione. Her gaze turned to you and she smiled. “We would have never imagined this had happened.”

“Yes,” sighed out Draco. “Well, now you know I’m fine. So, please leave.”

“Not until you agree to go to the Burrow for breakfast tomorrow,” said Ron. “Mom will wanna meet Y/N.”

“Bloody hell,” Draco muttered under his breath. “Fine! Fine! We’ll be there tomorrow!”

All four of them beamed at this and you laughed softly. But this didn’t seem to amuse Draco and he pointed to the door.

“Now, get out!”

“Alright, alright, Mister Grumpy Pants,” said Harry. “We’re leaving.”

“Go! Before I hex all your bothersome arses.”

“We’re going, Draco,” said Hermione with a roll of her eyes. “Dramatic much.”

Pulling his head back, you laughed as Draco groaned loudly. There was a pink tint to his cheeks and you knew he was embarrassed, after all, you felt the embarrassment as well. Sliding your hand down his arm, you interlaced your fingers with his, catching his attention. His head turned to meet your eyes and you sent him a soft smile, partly hidden by the side of your face being pressed against his shoulder.

Draco felt something warm bubble up in his chest and he smiled down at you, suddenly forgetting his retreating friends. He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to your lips.

This incited a chorus of ‘awws’ from his friends and he scowled against your mouth. You laughed and pulled away from him to bury your face into his upper arm, shoulders shaking with mirth.

“Get out!”

“Alright, alright, we’re going!”

Draco and you remained quiet until the Floo rang, signaling their departure. By now, Draco had gotten comfortable on a nest of pillows he quickly arranged and he pulled you close to him.

Your head on his chest, you began to trace the scars on his torso with an index finger. Draco froze for a second before relaxing, humming softly in contentment.

Had you known what you were about to do, you’d have stayed quiet. But curiosity got the best of you and your lips parted.

“Who gave you these scars?” you asked.

Draco stiffened.

 

The room was silent, nearly suffocating as the seconds ticked by. Draco’s breaths were barely there as you felt him immediately retreat from the warmth you had both set up in the little bubble that had been created by lying together.

Shutting your eyes tightly, you felt regret course through you, making your chest clench uncomfortable, a knot form in your throat. Slowly, you let your hand retreat from Draco’s torso, feeling that the last thing he now wanted was your fingers on the scars you shared with him.

And then you felt the terror, pour into you and threaten to leave you without breath, your heart hammering in the same fashion that Draco’s was.

His fingers had stopped drawing random things on your shoulder and he let his arm drop to the mattress, no longer holding you close to his long frame. You wanted to apologize, ask him to forget the question, but by the time you could get your lips to part and were in the process of finding your voice, Draco was sliding out from beneath you and towards the edge of the bed.

You heard slippers sliding across the tiles as he slipped his feet into them and Draco got up. His body was tense and you swallowed thickly as your gaze slid down and dropped on his clenched fists. And you knew Draco didn’t want you feeling what was raging through him. There was anger, guilt, fear, and frustration.

“I…” he began to say, his voice fading away.

You gnawed on your bottom lip. “Draco… I—”

He spun his body towards the door. “Bathroom.” He offered as an explanation.

He disappeared out of the room and you exhaled a breath you had been holding, waiting in hopes he’d turn around and the heavy mood in the room would dissipate.

But after five minutes of Draco being in the bathroom, you forced yourself to get out of bed and quickly fetched your blouse from the floor. Putting it on, you made your way out of the room and turned about the corner towards the kitchen.

Easily enough, you found the tea kettle and poured water into it, turning on the stove. The knobs creaked and you laughed silently, wondering when it had been the last time the stove had been used. Magic made some people forget how relaxing it could be to do things without an extra help.

The flame came on and you set the kettle down on top it. Searching Draco’s pantry, you located where he kept the tea bags and pulled out some Earl Grey, preparing two mugs and leaned against the counter, waiting for the water to come to a boil.

Folding your elbow, you turned your left hand until the inside of your forearm was visible to your gaze. Fingers flitting over the marred skin, you wondered what was so bad about this tattoo. What had Draco done that was so horrible for him to react in such a way?

You knew that he’d eventually tell you. He’d have to. You were bound for life. You would come to know him so well, as he would come to know you just as deeply. It was inevitable.

Yet Draco was holding back. You could feel it. He was trying his best to not show a part of him, a part that was shrouded in guilt, pain, and fear.

Lost in your thoughts, you didn’t hear Draco approaching and jumped when he slid his arms around your waist. A deep chuckle left his throat as he buried his face in your neck, breathing in deeply, becoming acquainted with the way you smelled. And Draco was reminded of coming home after being gone for his whole life. His body relaxed against yours.

His breaths were even, no longer resembling the ones you had witnessed in his bedroom. And you let yourself fall back against him, your frame fitting inside the cocoon he had formed around you. Draco felt like the only right place you could be and your head fell back to rest on his shoulder, shivers tickling your spine as he pressed a kiss to your neck.

Minutes passed like this, Draco breathing you in and you reveling in being in his arms. You were his oasis, the taste of water after being without it for so long.

The whistle of the kettle finally pulled you away from each other and you felt Draco scoff against your neck before he moved away.

“You know, you could have just waved your wand over some water and it would have been fine,” he said.

“I like doing things the long way sometimes,” you said with a shrug. “It helps relax me.”

Draco hummed, his eyes trained on you as you walked up to the stove and turned off the heat, making the kettle float in mid-air with your wand. He watched with a smile as you tipped it over the mugs and filled them up before setting it back down in the middle of the stove.

Shaking your head when Draco offered to help you, the mugs floated over to the tiny table Draco kept in his kitchen and you sat across from each other. His long fingers wrapped around the cup and he brought it up to his lips, taking a sip. You mimicked his movements and you felt the warm liquid warm you from the inside out

Your gazes met and Draco sent you a wink, making you smile giddily at him.

Hours ago, this would have been unbelievable to you and now here you were, drinking tea with your soulmate.

Draco set his mug down, but kept his hands wrapped around it. He took a deep breath. “That part of my past,” he began, his voice slightly shaky. “It… It was dark. And you… You are so—”

“Draco,” you interrupted him, reaching across the table to take a hold of his hand, your thumb stroking against his. “You don’t have to. Not now.”

He nodded and you felt the fear once again, the regret. You gave him a reassuring smile and sent a wink at him. A pink tint colored his cheeks and this made you laugh softly. Draco scowled and something told you that this side of Draco was rarely seen by anyone.

You sat together until you had both finished your teas. Draco waved your wand at them and the mugs obediently floated over to the sink. Silently commanding them to wash themselves, Draco got on his feet and held his hand out to you.

Your fingers intertwined and your steps fell into sync as you went back to his room. Draco fetched silk pajamas from his drawers and you raised your brow as he handed you the outfit.

“Something tells me you’re a rich, prissy boy,” you teased.

Draco scoffed. “I am no such thing.”

You laughed, excusing yourself from the room to go change in the bathroom. After washing up and changing into Draco’s very comfortable pajamas, you stepped back into his room.

Draco was already in bed, waiting for you. He smiled and opened his arms up for you and you felt awfully giddy as you climbed onto the bed and into his arms. He pressed a soft kiss to your lips, his hand cradling your jaw. Thumbing your cheekbone, he pulled away to gaze down at you and you could feel the disbelief he was going through.

“I know,” you said. “I feel the same way.”

Draco’s smile became wider as he relaxed back onto the pillows with you, his cheek pressed against the top of your head.

The nightmares that had been plaguing him for years stayed away and the next morning, you were both being roused by the Floo ringing quite loudly. Draco groaned as he crawled out of bed and went to answer it.

“For Merlin’s sake, Potter!” you heard his voice travel through the flat and laughed softly. “We’ll be right there!”

Draco almost ran right into you as you were heading out of his bedroom and towards the living room, in search of your purse. He raised a curious brow in question and you informed him that you had shrunken all of your luggage and placed it inside of your bag. Draco nodded, telling you that you were both expected at Ron’s parents’ in half an hour.

“They’re eager to meet you,” he said, exasperation in his tone.

You chuckled. “They’re family?”

Draco remained silent for a few seconds and you looked up from your now-opened suitcase and met his eyes. He nodded. “Yeah, they’re family.”

You beamed at him. “Then, I can’t wait to meet them.”

Within half an hour, you were both ready and stepping into the Floo hand in hand. Draco said, “The burrow,” and you disappeared together in a burst of green flames.

You were expecting anything but what greeted you as you stepped out of the fireplace. Silence and shocked faces all about the room as you stood beside Draco, holding his hand.

And then a woman spoke up. “You weren’t lying, huh.”

“Of course, not, Ginny!” Ron retorted. “Why would we lie about such a thing? Draco’s got himself his soulmate. Lucky bloke if you asked me.”

“Well, good thing no one is asking you!” said Hermione sharply.

This made the tension in the room dissipate as everyone laughed, Ron’s face resembling a tomato. You smiled and Draco rolled his eyes.

“I should have just taken her straight to the Manor,” he stated.

“And scare her off like that?” piped up another man. He seemed familiar and after a second, you realized you had seen him in the toy shop you had visited in Diagon Alley. “Mate, she’s gotta be eased into your weird family.”

Draco guffawed, which prompted you to file the moment away and ask what the man had meant with that jab. Draco squeezed your hand and pulled you with him into a room full of fiery red hair and disbelieving smiles.

Embracing them all one by one, you were introduced to the entire Weasley clan before greeting those you had already met: Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Pansy. The twins, Fred and George, both commented on how they had seen you walk into their shop the day before.

“You saw her?” Draco inquired.

“Well, you don’t see _that_ ,” Fred shot your tattoo a pointed look. “And not remember it.”

Draco was tense beside you and you took his hand in yours, squeezing it comfortingly. His head turned and his gaze met yours. He gave you a small smile.

Molly Weasley, the matriarch of the family, began to offer you food, which you graciously accepted. She was in the middle of piling up a large plate for you when the bell rang.

“Oh! Draco, go answer that, dear,” she said. “Your parents and Aunt Andromeda are here.”

Your stomach dropped and you looked up at Draco with wide eyes. “Parents?” you mouthed at him.

 

Parents. Draco’s parents. Yours were halfway across the world right now, oblivious to everything that had been happening to you. They were going to be so happy for you when you told them that you had walked straight into your soulmate’s arms as soon as you had arrived to England. And that reminded you that you needed to call them. No-Maj London required a visit from you soon. You wondered if you could make a Floo call to them through Draco’s and made a mental note to ask if you could use it when you got home.

Squeezing Draco’s hand as he began to make to turn towards the door, this gesture from you stopped him and he looked back to face you. You were downright nervous. You hadn’t been expecting to meet _the_ parents. Family was fine, but parents? You weren’t ready. You shook your head at him, eyes wide as you felt your mouth dry up.

You knew Draco could feel everything, how nervous you were, how unexpected it all was, and how you didn’t think you were ready to do this. He leaned down until his nose almost bumped against you and thumbed your cheek comfortingly.

“They are going to absolutely adore you,” he said, his posh accent making you chuckle.

“Alright, then,” you said, teasingly imitating him. Draco gave a breathless laugh, rolling his eyes affectionately, to which you smiled. Stroking your cheek one last time, he turned towards the front door.

You braced yourself for the inevitable meeting, convincing yourself that it would be okay. This was your soulmate, his parents would be happy to meet you, to know that their son had found the one person who would love him the way he deserved to be loved.

Draco’s hand wrapped around the doorknob and turned it, the door swinging inward and revealing three people standing in front of the house.

The woman in the middle, who had blond hair and a sweet smile as her eyes fell on Draco, leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Son,” she greeted. “If I don’t come by the Burrow, you won’t visit us.”

Draco chuckled, embracing her. “Sorry, mother. I’ve been busy lately.”

The man next to her raised a brow. He had long, pale-blond hair and a sharp face that downright intimidated you. “Busy? With what, Draco?” he drawled when he spoke and you fidgeted in your seat.

Draco gave him a smile, shaking hands with him. “I’m sorry I haven’t visited you, father. Mother.”

“Just come by soon,” his mother said.

Draco assented and turned towards another woman, wrapping arms around her. “Hi, Aunt Andromeda.”

The woman looked like his mother, but she had a kindly air about her and hugged Draco tightly. “Hello, Draco. Are you faring well?”

Draco smiled. “Fantastic, actually. I—” He cleared his throat and turned towards his parents. The whole room had shushed down as he faced them. And you felt the nervousness that was surging through him.

Draco’s father tilted his head. “Well…”

Draco took a deep breath and spun around to look at you. And his demeanor automatically changed. It was like looking at you immediately eased and he strode over to you, holding out his hand. You quickly took it and let him pull you up to your feet.

He wrapped an arm around your waist. “I met my soulmate, Y/N. Y/N, these are my parents, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. And my aunt, Andromeda Tonks.”

You stepped forward, holding out your hand. “Hello, it’s very nice to meet you,” you said, trying to sound completely sincere and not have your voice betray how nervous you were feeling. You felt Draco’s arm drop from around you as you stepped up to his parents and shook hands first with Lucius Malfoy.

“Soulmate? When did this happen?” he questioned, and you briefly wondered if he drawled out his words like that always.

“Oh! Y-Yesterday,” replied Draco. “In Diagon Alley. We ran into each other.”

“Draco actually rescued me,” you admitted with a laugh. “I-I had just arrived from—”

“It’s a long story,” Draco interrupted, turning you to face his mother. “This is Narcissa, Y/N. My mother.”

“Mrs. Malfoy,” you said politely, holding out your hand to her.

She looked quite cold at first, but then her face broke out in a wide, warm smile and she brushed your hand away, her arms wrapping around your frame. “Oh, nonsense!” she exclaimed, squeezing you tightly to her as you laughed in surprise. You felt the relief pour into you and knew that Draco and you had felt this simultaneously. “Call me Narcissa, please. I’m—” She gave you a quick kiss on the cheek before pulling you away at an arm’s length, her hands on your upper arms. “You are so beautiful!”

You gave her a beaming smile. “Thank you, Mrs. Malf—Oh, I mean, Narcissa,” you corrected yourself, to which she grinned.

“Oh, I’m so glad Draco has found you,” she expressed with joy, moving in to hug you again.

Draco smiled as he stood next to you, glad that his parents hadn’t been utter asses to you, they tended to be like that with people they weren’t acquainted with. It had taken him years to finally be comfortable enough to come around the Burrow and even then, things were a little tense once in a while. Yet Molly, ever the great host, insisted that they be part of celebrations because they were Draco’s family. And Draco was ultimately family to her, an honorary Weasley.

As you pulled away from Narcissa, you were faced with Draco’s aunt, who also embraced you, her hug tight and warm. She expressed her elation upon meeting you and you felt the last of your nerves ebb away before you sidled up to Draco and he took your hand in his. You turned towards each other and shared wide smiles.

You stood around the common living room talking for a few more minutes, mostly you answering questions Narcissa had for you. Where were you from? Who were your parents? _Where_ were your parents? And so on. You explained to the Malfoys that you had come to England to visit, that your parents had their jobs to do and couldn’t make it.

“Oh, but they must visit soon!” exclaimed Narcissa. “They can stay at the Manor.”

You thanked her for this before Molly called everyone to sit around the table. Draco was moving towards the dining room when you stopped him, your hand on his arm. He looked at you curiously.

“Manor?” you asked with raised eyebrows. “I knew you were a rich, prissy brat.”

He scoffed and was making to reply when Ron stepped up next to you, snorting. “You should have seen him when we were in school!” he exclaimed. Draco shot him a scandalous glare, prompting you to laugh.

“Really? How was he like?”

“Very well!” Draco shouted. “Nope. This isn’t going to—”

“Hush up, Malfoy,” laughed Ron, turning to you with a sneaky smirk. “He was bloody insufferable, the prat. Used to think himself better than all of us.”

“No way,” you giggled. You turned to look at Draco as he hung his head and groaned. He seemed to do a lot of that around Ron Weasley.

“He always used to say, ‘My father will hear about this!’” Ron imitated Draco, which made you laugh harder. Draco scowled at his friend as Ron looked victorious.

“You were one of those, huh?” you asked Draco, your voice teasing.

“One of what?”

“One of those rich kids who no one could stand,” you said with a smile, nudging his side. “Or am I wrong?”

“Wrong, you are horribly wrong!”

“As bloody if!” Ron screeched, laughter laced in his voice. He was red by now and you couldn’t help but laugh along with him. Ron was making to say something else when Hermione called out to him, clearly seeing that Ron was teasing Draco too much in front of you.

Ron excused himself and took a seat next to Hermione, who only shook her head at him. Meanwhile, Draco and you had yet to take your seats as you gave him a curious glance, tilting your head.

Draco cleared his throat and gestured towards the dining room. “Dinner is ready.”

He looked quite nervous and you chose not to pursue the subject, not ask the questions you had teasing between your teeth and lips. You felt Draco’s relief as you brushed past him and took your seat, his right next to you.

Dinner was a rowdy affair, mostly from the Weasleys, barely a peep from the Malfoys. Draco kept on glaring at Ron, who only chuckled at him, devouring everything in sight. Hermione seemed to be discussing important things with Pansy, their heads close together as they continued whispering.

Thanking Molly Weasley for the delicious meal, you offered to help out, but she shook her head. “Ron, Harry, and Draco will help,” she informed you, nodding towards Narcissa Malfoy. “You go on.”

Giving her a nod, you turned towards Draco’s mother, who looked beautiful in her robes, smiling at you. You felt momentarily intimidated before she gave you a warm smile and held out her hand for you. “Mind taking a stroll with me, dear?”

You nodded, letting her loop her hand into the crook of your elbow. Narcissa led you out of the house and towards a garden Molly kept in the front yard. The wind was blowing and you took a deep breath, remembering you had still yet to do some sight-seeing, briefly wondering if Draco would be up to accompany you.

Narcissa cleared her throat, squeezing your arm slightly. This knocked you out of your thoughts and you looked at her. She was gorgeous and you knew that Draco had gotten his incredible looks from her, despite looking a lot like his father.

She began to ask you random questions, where you had grown up, what you were studying. You informed her that you were currently planning to go to a No-Maj university, hoping to learn something more than magic. She raised a brow at this and you recalled that they were called Muggles in this country.

“Muggles,” you said with a smile. “I want to go to a Muggle university.”

“Oh,” she nodded. “Are your parents Muggles?”

“They were born as Muggles,” you replied. “Then, when they were eleven, were accepted into wizarding school and I was born a witch.”

“Oh, do you live amongst Muggles?”

“Yes. We tend to associate more with Muggles. I mean, they have amazing technology and pairing that up with magic, well, it makes our life easier. We just pretend we’re like them, though.”

“You’re quite acquainted with the Muggle world?”

“Yes. It’s a part of me.”

She nodded. “I see.” Her eyes flitted down to your left forearm and you instinctively hid it behind your frame, prompting a gentle smile from her. “I’ve got one, too,” she said. Pulling her hand out of the crook of your elbow, Narcissa lifted the sleeve of her robes and revealed the same mark you bore on your arm. You inhaled sharply.

“It’s the—”

“The Dark Mark,” she said. “A horrible thing.”

“W-Why do you have it? Why does Draco have it?”

Narcissa looked momentarily stunned before she reined in her features. “That is for Draco to tell you, dear. It is not my place.”

You swallowed thickly, wondering what was so bad that made Draco close up the way he did and have Narcissa withhold all information. “Please, tell me.”

She shook her head. “It is not my place,” she said, taking your hand. You met her glance and felt your heart constrict. Her eyes were shining with unshed tears, her lower lip and chin trembling. “Just remember, my dear girl, that Draco was just a boy. He did everything out of love for his family. Do _not_ shun him for doing what he thought was right. Please.”

“I-I won’t,” you whispered.

Narcissa gave you a tiny smile, pulling herself close to you to wrap you up in her arms. You hugged her back and gave her a grin. She wiped at her cheeks and gave you an awkward laugh. When she was about to apologize, the front door of the Burrow burst opened.

Draco, Harry, Pansy, Hermione, and Ron all bustled out, excited exclamations being exchanged. Narcissa turned her head away from them, as if she didn’t want them to see her break down. She wiped at her face one last time before she gave you a smile and a wink, leaning forward to press a kiss to your cheek.

“Come by the Manor soon,” she whispered before she turned back towards the house.

You were completely stunned as Draco stepped up to you and took your hand. “This lot wants to go clubbing in Muggle London,” he told you before his brow furrowed. “Is everything alright?” His eyes traveled towards his mother. “Did she tell you something?”

You gave him a reassuring smile, knowing better than to ask the questions invading your mind right now. Instead, you leaned towards him and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Yeah, she was just inviting me to the Manor.”

Draco nodded.

“So, what do you say, Y/N?” asked Harry. “Are you up to some fun in Muggle London?”

You grinned. “Yeah, let’s do it!”

Draco smiled and kissed you deeply, making the others groan in disgust. “I have had to suffer for years! It’s about time you all did, too!”

This made you laugh, but you couldn’t keep Narcissa’s words far from your mind. And you knew that you had to sit Draco down to talk very soon.

 

Swept up in the excitement of discovering a new world beyond Wizarding England, you let Draco lead you towards the vast fields surrounding the Burrow. Pansy and Hermione were chatting excitedly about the new club they wanted to visit as Ron grumbled about first getting a few drinks before he was forced to dance with Hermione.

Finally, you stopped a few hundred feet away from the house and you tilted your head at Draco, a brow raised in curiosity. He winked and took your hands, leaning forward to press his lips to yours.

“We are going to apparate to the Leaky Cauldron,” he informed you.

You couldn’t help but to snort. “Well, someone should fix that cauldron if it’s leaking.”

He laughed at this, shaking his head before wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you close. You felt the familiar tug of apparition and were soon stepping onto the stone street that you had previously visited the day before.

A sour taste overcame your mouth and the memories of yesterday came flooding into your mind. Draco pulled at your hand before he stopped short by your frozen frame. You were staring off into space, your thoughts lost in the past, trying to figure out why you had been called those horrible names and wished death upon.

Draco cringed and cupped your face, prompting you to look away from the mostly-empty street. His eyes met yours and he gave you an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I—”

Your teeth worried at your lower lip as you forced yourself not to feel the terror you had felt then, knowing well that Draco would be feeling it as well. And this night was supposed to be all about the fun you were going to have. You gave him a smile that you knew didn’t quite reach your eyes. Draco took a deep breath and pressed his mouth to yours in a sweet, long kiss.

Your hands came to rest on his firm chest, his arms holding your waist and you felt the jolt of electricity as Draco swiped his tongue between your lips, silently requesting for entrance. You gasped, giving him access and felt your insides melt as you felt him begin to lick inside your mouth.

Draco’s hands began to roam, you could feel him everywhere at once. He was surging through your blood, making you scream in ecstasy at finally being in the place that you belonged. A fiery need took a hold of you and your hands flew up to thread through his hair. Draco’s guttural groan breathed new life into the fire that was being lit in your lower stomach and you moved yourself closer to him, as if you wanted to become part of him forever.

Fingers about to dig into your buttocks, you were knocked out of your kissing haze by Harry clearing his throat.

Yet you pulled away from each other reluctantly, Draco’s forehead pressing to yours. You heard a low growl emanate from his lips and giggled, the sound light and breathless. Draco felt a smile tug on the scowl he was now sporting because he was so rudely interrupted.

After a few seconds, he pulled away and glared at his friends. Hermione and Harry were both smirking at him, Pansy looked utterly annoyed, and Ron was positively green.

“It looks like Weasley is about to vomit some slugs,” jabbed Draco.

“If I wanted to look at porn, I’d have stayed home with the telly on,” muttered Ron, making a gagging noise. Hermione rolled her eyes from beside him and Draco gave a loud bark of laughter.

“My, my, how the tables have turned,” he drawled out, and you were reminded of his intimidating father. Something told you that Draco was much more than the sweet, charming man you had come to know him as.

“I never tongued Hermione in front of you, mate.”

“You sure rubbed it in my face that you had her, though.”

“Sounds like a personal problem.”

“Alright, enough, you two,” Hermione sighed out. “Let’s get going!”

You laughed against Draco’s shoulder, causing him to look at you with a tender smile. He winked at you, which sent your heartbeat skyrocketing. And you briefly wondered if the butterflies ever died off as the years went by. You hoped they didn’t.

Draco pressed close to you, his arm winding around you protectively as he used his other hand to point at a run-down building just a few feet away from you. “That’s the Leaky Cauldron,” he informed you. “It’s the entrance point between the Muggle and Wizarding world.”

You wrinkled your nose despite nodding at this new information. “It’s _No-Maj_ ,” you muttered.

A loud snort came from him and you laughed despite yourself. “Muggle is the right way.”

“No-Maj.”

“Muggle.”

“No-Maj.”

“Muggle.”

You glared at him. “No-Maj. Or you are not getting another kiss from me.”

He looked gleeful at this, even if the two of you were currently bickering. The happiness he was feeling poured into you and you let out an elated laugh. Draco stopped his steps towards the Leaky Cauldron to hold your face in his hands and connect his lips to yours once again, causing the rest of the group to groan in annoyance.

“You should have just stayed home!” bellowed Ron.

“That’s a good idea,” said Draco with a raised brow. “We can always go sightseeing tomorrow.”

You considered this, but then Hermione stomped her foot on the ground. “Absolutely not! We are already out here. You can do whatever you want tomorrow! Y/N needs to visit Muggle London, too!”

Pulling away from one another, you bit the inside of your cheek as Draco wrinkled his nose at you. He was too cute for words and you thanked whoever was up there for making him your soulmate. You felt like the luckiest person in the world.

“You see?” he murmured against your ear. You shivered involuntarily and felt Draco’s hand squeeze around your waist. “Muggle. Not No-Maj.”

“Wait until you visit my home,” you shot back, causing him to laugh.

“I’ll convince them to say Muggle.”

You made a small ‘hmm’ sound before facing forward and following the rest of the group into the Leaky Cauldron.

It was old, stuffy, and more lively than it looked from outside. Despite how ancient everything seemed to be, you felt the warmth Draco felt as he walked into it and you relaxed against his frame, looking around in curiosity.

“Neville! Hannah!” yelled out Ron.

From behind the bar counter, a young couple looked up from their respective tasks and beamed at the newcomers.

“Harry! Ron! Draco!” screamed out the man you assumed was named Neville. Bounding out from behind the counter, he greeted Harry and Ron with handshakes and Hermione and Pansy with kisses to their cheeks. And then he shook hands with Draco and pulled up in surprise at you. You giggled as you were reminded of a puppy.

“H-Hi!” he exclaimed. “I’m Neville!”

“Hi, Neville,” you said politely, shaking his hand. “I’m Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you,” he grinned.

“Neville, this is my soulmate,” said Draco, looking down at you with what could only be described as adoration.

Neville’s brows raised high on his forehead. “Wow, really? And just yesterday you were wallowing in self-pity!”

Draco grimaced at this, which made you laugh and look at him curiously. “Self-pity?” you mouthed at him.

“Neville, mate,” Harry coughed out, shaking his head. Neville looked momentarily confused before he realized that his words had more than likely embarrassed Draco, to which the man grew red at the cheeks in shame.

“Oh! I-I’m sorry, Malfoy,” he pouted.

“It’s okay, Neville. No harm done,” assured Draco, giving him a thin-lipped smile. You couldn’t help but to giggle. Draco’s friends rather enjoyed embarrassing him and you quite enjoyed it.

The trip to the clubs was temporarily put on hold as Ron demanded to be handed a few shots of firewhiskey and a large mug of butterbeer. He claimed he needed to be somewhat drunk before he thought of dancing. Hermione berated him, but he still chugged down the liquor, hissing as it burned its way down his throat.

Draco shrugged at this and asked Hannah, who turned out to be Neville’s soulmate, for a round of shots for everyone.

Draco kept his eyes on you as you took the tiny glass in your hand and pushed it back, hissing at the burn. He leaned forward and nuzzled his face against your neck, which had been revealed to him as you had pulled your head back to drink down the shot. You giggled as his breath tickled the sensitive skin.

“I don’t want to go out anymore,” he said, voice almost petulant. “I want to go back home and have my way with you.”

You bit your tongue before a moan could escape your lips and held the back of Draco’s head, fingers carding through his straight, blond hair. “Don’t say stuff like that,” you whispered, hoping no one heard you. “I want to see Muggle London.”

“I can take you tomorrow,” he vowed. “But for now, let me show you other things. It’ll be fun, I promise.”

You laughed at this, Draco chuckling at his own words, but he still swiped his tongue up and down the column of your neck and you felt heat pool in the crux of your thighs.

“Draco,” you whined out.

“Enough with the sex!” screeched Pansy, getting on her feet and swatting the back of Draco’s head. “Let’s go clubbing!”

Harry turned to Hannah and Neville. “You two should come with!”

“Well, if you wait for us to close up real fast, we can go,” said Hannah. Neville turned to look at her with surprise, but she shrugged and gave him a smile. “We haven’t gone out in quite a while. Some fun is due.”

A wide smile bloomed over Neville’s face as he loudly declared to the rest of the patrons that the Leaky Cauldron would be closing for the night. A series of curses and protests were shouted out but overall, the place was cleared within a few minutes. With the help of six other wands, Neville and Hannah managed to clean the place in no time and soon, everyone was bustling out the door and into Muggle London.

Hermione and Pansy led everyone towards the highly-anticipated nightclub and you were soon being given access to the inside. You suspected magic had to do with the ease in which the bouncer had nodded at the girls without asking them for their names or any of that sort.

Draco’s arm wrapped around your waist and he pulled you firmly against him. You gave him an amused glance as he glanced around, obviously wary of the men in his close vicinity. You leaned into him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’m yours only,” you assured.

“I will hex anyone who looks at you the wrong way,” he growled out.

You shook your head, but remained quiet. You couldn’t help but to feel a bit turned on by this jealous side of him, how possessive he seemed to be. Draco felt your arousal and he slowly turned his head to look at you with a smirk.

“Let me go grab some drinks with the blokes and I’ll be right back, alright?” he asked.

You nodded your head and smiled at Hermione as she grabbed your hand and pulled you with her, Pansy, and Hannah towards an empty booth.

The music was loud and had a repetitive beat to it. The air inside the room was almost stifling but after downing a few more shots that the men brought over, you felt yourself relax and soon dragged Draco with you towards the dance floor.

A pleasant buzz surrounded the two of you as you wrapped arms around his neck and felt Draco’s hand settle on your waist. You let your body be overtaken by the music, the beat flowing into your limbs and moving you to and fro, Draco’s body pressing against your own, hot and heavy.

His face close to yours, you panted into each other’s mouths as the minutes passed and you didn’t stop moving. Draco’s hands explored every inch of your body he could reach and you moaned into his ear as he squeezed your backside to him. As he pulled you close and undulated his hips, you felt his arousal against your pelvis and whimpered with the need for him.

Draco smirked and continued to rub against you, teasingly touching you before his hands flitted away to explore some other part of you. It was the hottest thing, yet you were frustrated beyond belief. All you wanted was to go back home and have him keep his word by having his way with you.

You were making to turn around to tell him to do just that when you were forcibly pulled away from Draco’s arms and came face to face with a stranger, who was sneering disgustingly at you. He blew you a kiss.

“Want to put some of those moves on me, girl?” he asked with a lewd wink. And you felt disgust tug at your stomach, bile rising in your throat.

You began to pull away from him, but his hold on your arm was iron-like and you cringed at the pain of it. Suddenly, you felt anger and possessiveness flood you.

Draco’s wand suddenly came into view as he pressed it against the stranger’s neck, close to his jugular. “Get away from her,” he warned in a low voice.

“Draco… Not here,” you swallowed thickly.

By now, the people around you were staring in blatant curiosity. And your heart sank as a curse spilled out of Draco’s lips and surged through his fingers, into his wand, and towards your drunken attacker.

 

The man fell to the ground, stiff as a board as the crowd gasped. Murmurs began to go around the crowd and you even heard the word ‘sorcery’ being mentioned. Draco towered over the petrified man, whose eyes were the only thing that moved, and wildly at that. He glowered and lifted his foot over the man’s face.

“Draco!” you screeched, desperately grabbing his arms and pulling him back.

He was seething, you could feel it. All Draco wanted to do was kill the man and you knew that the unforgivable killing spell had been at the tip of his tongue. Draco curled his lips into an angry snarl. “He deserves more than a petrification spell,” he declared, making to stomp on the guy’s face again.

“Draco, stop!” You dug your nails into his biceps, hoping that would knock him out of his ire and realize what he had done. Magic in front of No-Maj’s was absolutely prohibited and to just think what the Ministry of Magic was going to do, you shuddered.

As you were trying to drag Draco away, Harry, Ron, and Neville bounded up to you. Their eyes were wide and full of questions, darting down to the man still sprawled on the floor.

“What happened?” Harry asked, running over to the guy. His fingers pushed against the man’s neck and he sighed in relief when he felt a pulse.

“I was merciful with him,” Draco growled.

“Draco!” chastised Harry, getting on his feet. “Have you gone mad?”

Draco only scowled at him, not answering. You could begin to feel the dread that was filling Draco.

“Ron!” called out Harry. “Get everyone out of here, I’m going to try—Take them back to Grimmauld Place. It’s still under the Fidelius charm. Don’t let him get out.”

Ron nodded, taking on his Auror persona and grabbed Draco’s arm. There was frustration in his expression as he dragged his friend through the crowd and towards the front entrance of the nightclub. By now, the music had been shut off and you could feel all eyes on you. Yet Draco had grabbed your hands moments before Ron had put his hands on him and hadn’t let go.

“Foolish git,” muttered Ron as you emerged from the building. You took a deep breath, taking in the night air, but it did nothing to relax you.

“I would do it again,” grumbled Draco. And you knew he meant it. There was not an ounce of regret in him and even though you were scared, you wanted to hug him and thank him for coming to your defense like that.

“Draco, don’t you know what you have done?” Ron demanded. Without asking, Ron reached for your hand and you felt the pull of disapparation before you came to a strange, unknown street. Surveying his surroundings, Ron determined the coast was clear before he stepped up towards a house that was suddenly coming to be.

Draco followed, his shoulders slumped over, but his hand never letting go of yours. Quickly stepping inside, the door slammed behind you before you jumped at the sudden appearance of a tiny, old house-elf.

“Kreacher, make sure no one but Hermione, Pansy, or Harry come in.”

“Yes, Master Weasley,” slurred the house-elf, and you briefly wondered how old he was.

Draco led you through the dark hallways and into a kitchen. The house was ancient, you could tell, but despite its chilly conditions, you could see the effort that someone had put into making it a somewhat home.

Ron banged his fist down on the dining room table. “Malfoy, you are in deep shit.”

Draco glared at him. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

The men glowered at one another. “Bloody fool,” whispered Ron, his lips set in a thin, angry line.

You stepped up to stand between them. “I-It can’t be that bad,” you tried to reason. “I’m sure you can explain to whoever’s in charge that Draco made a mistake, that he was just trying to protect me.”

“It’s not that easy,” said Ron. “The Wizengamot has been trying to condemn Draco for any small thing they can since he got out of Azkaban years ago.”

“Azkaban? Isn’t that the wizard prison?” you asked, vaguely recalling having read about it in your World History class. “Why will Draco be—Why was he there before in the first place?”

Ron gave you a questioning glance. “You don’t know?”

Draco stepped up. “She doesn’t.”

“Bloody hell, Draco,” groaned out Ron, threading fingers through his hair. “Do you know the world of trouble you are in? Are you off your fucking trolley?”

Draco laughed dryly, and you knew he was nervous. The consequences of his actions were beginning to dawn upon him. “Harry’s there. H-He can… He can fix it.”

“There are some things that not even Harry can fix, mate,” said Ron, a pitying look on his face.

And you heard the breath leaving Draco as he slumped down on the nearest chair. Regret, fear, and disappointment flooded Draco. Hanging his head, he buried his face in his hands, his elbows on his knees. Draco looked incredibly small as a tremor overtook his body.

“I-I can’t go back, Ron,” his voice was small and it broke your heart. You dashed over to him, kneeling in front of his knees and taking his hands away from his face. Draco’s eyes were full of tears and you cupped his cheek.

“It’ll be okay,” you whispered, knowing that Draco wouldn’t believe that. You didn’t even believe yourself.

Draco smiled, and you knew it was because you were trying to comfort him and he appreciated that. He leaned forward and kissed your lips deeply. Holding the back of your head, he continued to ravish your lips desperately and you kissed back as much as you could. You could taste the desperation, the rage, and felt tears beginning to prick in the back of your eyes.

You pulled away when steps were heard approaching the kitchen. Harry, Hermione, and Pansy stood just a few feet away. Harry’s hair resembled a bird’s nest, his chest was heaving and his fists were clenched.

“Are you fucking mad?” he screeched as Draco turned to look at him.

“Please tell me you were able to—”

“No, Draco, I wasn’t able to work my goddamn magic!” Harry looked positively livid. “They’re out to get you, if you haven’t realized. This is the perfect opportunity for them to throw you back into a cell and let you rot away.”

“B-But it’s my first infraction since—”

“You think that matters to them? Then you’re madder than I give you credit for.”

Pansy placed a hand on her husband’s forearm as Hermione stepped up, concern marring her pretty features. “Draco, you have to leave.”

“What?”

“They are already looking for you,” said Hermione, she wrung her hands in front of her, clearly anxious for her friend. “You’re safe for now. Very few people still know the location of Grimmauld Place. But you’ll have to leave. At least until we figure out how to fix this in a way that doesn’t involve you ending up spending the rest of your life in Azkaban.”

“The rest of his life?” Getting on your feet, you faced Hermione with an inquisitive look. “I-I mean, he was defending _me_ , his soulmate. A man was sexually harassing me. That must count for something!”

Hermione’s teeth worked at her bottom lip. “Y/N, it’s not that easy. Draco has history with the Wizengamot. They’re not going to let him off that easily.”

“What history?” you demanded, voice high. You turned towards Draco, holding out your hands at him. “What fucking history could be so bad that they’re going to throw you into prison for the rest of your life when you barely even petrified him?”

Draco looked feeble as he hung his head, unable to meet your eyes. And you felt sorrow fill your chest, threatening to overwhelm you and become the only thing you ever felt.

Harry sighed, stepping up to the center of the room. “That’s a conversation for later. For now, we need to get Draco out of Britain.”

You jumped. “He can go back home with me.”

A beat of silence before Harry nodded. “Sounds swell. Can you get him out of here in twelve hours, or less?”

“Yeah, I’m sure we can do that.”

“It can’t be through portkey,” said Hermione. “They keep track of that. It has to be through a Muggle form of transportation.”

“Airplane,” you said. “We can take an airplane.”

Hermione nodded. “Draco doesn’t have a passport, but I’m pretty sure I can quickly charm some small booklet to look like one.”

You assented. “I may need one, too. I didn’t bring mine, didn’t think it was necessary.”

“Alright, I’ll have them ready in a few hours’ time,” she declared. “For now, you may want to figure out how to get into Draco’s flat and grab his stuff and Y/N’s.”

“I can sneak in,” said Harry. “They have yet to raid his place. I managed to talk them into obliviating the Muggles’ memories first before the official investigation began.”

“Is it even an investigation if everyone is out to get Draco?” you questioned.

Harry shook his head. “Not really, no. Gathering evidence is a better use of words, I suppose.”

“Can I go with you?” You stepped towards Harry. “They don’t know who I am. I can help you gather everything. And my stuff is at Draco’s, as well.”

Harry thought this over for a few seconds before accepting your help. “We’ll be apparating there in five minutes.”

“Alright,” you said. Harry turned away from you and walked over to the sink, Pansy close on his heels.

You spun around on your heels, your eyes searching for Draco. Your heart sank as you didn’t spot him in the kitchen.

“I’m here!” you heard him call out. He probably felt the fear that had gripped you upon seeing he wasn’t in the room.

Following the sound of his voice, you located him in a small room, sitting down on a transfigured chair. It was rickety at best, and you knew Draco wasn’t in a good place. Walking over to him, you took his hand and pulled him up to his feet.

He let you wrap arms around him and buried his face in your neck. You could feel his shaky breaths against your skin as his arms winded around your waist. He seemed so tiny in your arms and you bit the inside of your cheek, blinking furiously in an attempt to not cry. Draco didn’t need you crying, he needed you to be strong for the both of them.

“I’m going to go grab your stuff from your apartment,” you said. “What do you want me to get?”

Draco stopped breathing for a second and you smiled, pulling him away from you enough to look at his face. He had a thoughtful look on his face.

“You can always pack a bathing suit,” you shrugged. “The beaches close to where I live are _amazing_.”

“I don’t have a bathing suit,” he said.

You gasped, prompting him to give a short laugh. “Well, we’ll buy one over there. We’ll be spending a lot of time in the No-Maj world.”

He nodded. “Okay.”

Smiling tenderly at him, your hand lifted to stroke back a few strands of pale-blond hair that had fallen over his eyes. Draco tilted his face into the palm of your hand, his lips pressing a kiss to the skin and you took a deep breath. The touch of his lips would never stop being exhilarating.

Draco was leaning towards you to kiss you when Harry called out your name.

“Coming!” you yelled out. “What do you need me to grab for you, Draco?”

Waving his wand over the transfigured chair, Draco turned it into a piece of parchment. He summoned a quill from somewhere in the house and quickly jotted down whatever came to his mind. And you stood in front of him, patiently, for about five minutes.

You only left when Harry came barging into the room, demanding to know what was taking you so long. Draco looked up from the paper with a surprised look on his face as Harry rolled his eyes.

“Draco, you could always buy these things when you get to Y/N’s country,” Harry groaned out. “We have to go.”

“Just a second!” said Draco, his hand flying over the parchment, writing as fast as he could. Harry rolled his eyes until finally, he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Enough! Y/N and I have to go.”

Snatching the paper away from Draco, Harry folded it in half and shoved it into his pocket. He held out his hand to you and you gave one last glance to Draco before taking it. Draco seemed to be winking at you as Harry disapparated with you.

You came to an empty room in Draco’s flat. There was noise outside of the room and you felt panic seep into you. Harry put a finger to his lips and you froze on the spot. His ears on alert for any alerting noises that told him someone was approaching the room, Harry tiptoed his way towards the door. He leaned into it and determined the coast was somewhat clear.

“I’m going to talk to them,” he whispered to you. “Distract them for a few minutes while you gather up everything.”

You nodded. “Keep them away from Draco’s bedroom?”

“Yes. Go, go!”

Harry pushed you out of the room and towards Draco’s. You quickly stepped inside and heard the door slam. Stilling your movements, you heard someone call out Harry’s surname, steps closing in. But Harry must have led them away because the person didn’t come any closer and you quickly got to packing everything you could as fast as possible.

It was only when you were done putting your things back in your suitcase that you realized Harry had the parchment Draco had used to write everything he needed.

“Fuck,” you cursed quietly. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

You didn’t even have a chance to look it over and quickly decided to improvise. Dashing over to Draco’s closet, you opened the door and inhaled sharply at the sight of what lay inside.

There was definitely an extension charm at work here. Scoffing, you shook your head. Your soulmate really was a rich, prissy brat who dressed too well and probably spent a lot of money on his looks. It paid off, though. He was beyond beautiful, but this wasn’t helping when you had to pack as fast as you could.

As your eyes roved over the clothes, determining which ones to take. Suddenly, your ears picked up on sudden silence before it was followed by the sound of the door opening. Your stomach sank and you remained motionless as it swung inwards.

 

Draco paced back and forth, his steps resounding throughout the house, annoying Ron to no ends. But no matter how much he told Draco to stop, Draco wouldn’t, too nervous to sit still. He could feel every emotion you were feeling and right about now, fear had made it harder to breathe.

“Fuck!” he cursed out.

Ron jumped at this. “Are they back?” he asked, looking around desperately.

Draco shook his head. Ron glared at him. Yet he couldn’t be bothered by this, Draco was too worried to care whether Ron was mad at him or not.

Curling his fingers into fists, Draco could feel himself shaking. He wanted to punch something, hard. He wanted to scream until his voice was hoarse. He had been foolish, utterly hotheaded. A Malfoy was not supposed to lose their head like that. They were poised, kept their emotions at bay, and seldom gave in to their feelings. But Draco had seen you cower away from that man and had felt the panic that you had felt, along with the sneer the creep had been sporting. And he had seen nothing but red, instinct taking over and insisting Draco needed to protect you at all costs.

Out of nowhere, the doorbell rang and Draco felt ice surge through his veins. Had they found him? Were they able to somehow track him down despite the measures Harry and Hermione had taken to hide him.

Ron seemed to be on high alert and got on his feet. His eyes met Draco’s panicked ones. “Go to Harry’s office,” he said, voice booking no argument. “I’ll see who it is.”

Draco assented, heeding Ron’s words and quickly making his way to Harry’s study. He waited by the door with bated breath as Ron’s steps moved towards the front door. There was a beat of silence and Draco strained his ears, trying to pick up on the sound of the door opening, see if he could recognize the voices. And he really wished he had some Extendable Ears right about now.

The silence continued, almost deafening to Draco’s desperate ears. He swallowed thickly, teeth working at his bottom lip relentlessly until he picked up on the sound of steps approaching the study. Backing away from the door, he slipped his hand into his robes and wrapped fingers around his wand, poising himself for a defensive attack in case whomever was behind that door decided to go at him.

The doorknob turned, everything seemed to be in slow motion and Draco could feel the sympathy fear that you were feeling for him. He briefly wondered if you were alright when the door swung opened and Draco’s muscles relaxed.

It was Lucius Malfoy, looking at his son as if he had grown another head, eyebrow raised high on a fashion that only a Malfoy could pull off. Draco exhaled sharply, his arm falling to his side, wand still in his fingers.

Lucius gave him a once-over. “You are causing quite the ruckus in the Ministry,” he said, almost nonchalantly, as if he was discussing the weather with Draco.

“I-I—”

“You were foolish, Draco.”

“I know, father.”

“What happened?”

“Some creepy bloke was harassing her and I saw nothing but red, this overwhelming need to protect her. And before I knew it, the man was down on the floor, my wand out in front of all the Muggles.”

Lucius continued to look at him, his eyes hard. And Draco felt a stab of guilt. He shouldn’t have put them in this predicament. His father worked long and hard to bring the Malfoy house back to its former glory. And here was Draco, ruining everything because he couldn’t rein in his emotions.

“Did you kill him?”

Draco laughed dryly. “Is that what they’re saying in the Ministry? I wouldn’t be surprised if they make me into a horrible monster that kills Muggles because I feel like doing so.”

“Did you?”

“I barely petrified him,” answered Draco.

“That’s it?”

“Yes, father. I only wanted his hands off her.”

Lucius’ gaze met his and he nodded. “Draco, that was very careless of you.”

“I know, sir. Believe me, I _know_.”

“Ron tells me you are fleeing the country.”

He bowed his head in acquiescence. “I will be leaving with Y/N soon, back to her homeland.”

Lucius took a deep breath and approached Draco. Lifting his hand, he put it to rest on Draco’s shoulder and squeezed it in what only could be described as a sign of consolation. “We will try to get this sorted as soon as possible.”

Draco furrowed his brow, to which Lucius gave him an amused glance, brow raising in question. “P-Pardon me, father, b-but I—”

“You thought I’d be angry, didn’t you?” Draco remained silent, answering Lucius’ inquiry. “Well, I’m merely disappointed, but I understand.”

“Understand?”

“I almost killed one of my classmates back when I attended Hogwarts,” said Lucius, inciting Draco to look at him in slack-jawed surprise. “He was relentless in his pursuits for your mother, even told her he fancied her in front of me, her soulmate. One day, he had her cornered, a few of his friends along with him and well… It was nothing short of a miracle that I did not get expelled. I’m positive that has been the only time I have used my punches to harm someone.”

“Mother never told me,” commented Draco, thoroughly surprised by this. In his mind, his father was a calm, collected man who rarely gave in to his urges to do something rash and stupid.

“It’s not something we often discuss,” said Lucius. “But it happened, and so I understand you, son. But that doesn’t mean that I like it.”

Draco could only nod. He didn’t like it either. He didn’t like how helpless he felt in here, like a caged animal, pacing back and forth, not knowing what to do nor having the power to do anything. Without another word, Lucius pulled Draco closer to him by the shoulder and embraced him.

And Draco felt like he was five years old again and had fallen off his broomstick, his father rushing to his side to comfort him, tell him it would be alright. He inhaled shakily and the exhalation came out in the form of a sob.

Lucius didn’t say anything, he just held Draco in a rare showcase of his affection for his only son. Draco cried until there was a knock to the door. Rapidly pulling away from each other, the men tried to make it seem as if they hadn’t been embracing, Draco furiously wiping at his cheeks as Lucius muttered a spell and the tear marks on his clothes disappeared. Their eyes met and they shared a smile before the door slowly opened to reveal the one person Draco was yearning to see.

Your name left his lips in a breathless sigh of relief, his body lurching forward. You connected in a tight embrace, Draco holding the back of your head as you held his broad shoulders. He buried his face into your hair, taking in your scent and letting it comfort him. The tightness in his chest loosened, and the darkness that had been looming over him seemed to dissipate, if only a little bit.

Pulling away from him, you gave Draco a smile and pressed your lips to his in a quick kiss. You wanted to do more than that, but his father was in the room and you were still somewhat scared of the man. Turning towards Lucius Malfoy, you bowed your head at him in greeting. The man returned the gesture before striding out of the room, closing the door behind himself.

“We almost got caught,” you informed Draco. “B-But Harry is a really good shit-talker.”

Draco laughed at this. “Really now?”

“Yeah, he flattered the living hell out of the head investigator,” you said, shaking your head. And then you paused and swatted at Draco’s shoulder, making him startle. “And you! You really need everything on that list?”

“Please tell me you brought it all,” whined out Draco.

You rolled your eyes. “Yes. I got it all in my purse. It now has an Extendable charm on it.”

Draco grinned, cupping your face and planting a big, wet kiss on your mouth. “You’re an angel.”

“Hardly. Harry had to help me, he cursed the whole way through.”

“I would have paid a thousand Galleons to see that,” laughed Draco.

You grinned, leaning your head on his chest. This made Draco hum softly, his cheek pressed against the crown of your head. You stood together for a few moments before Hermione came barging into the room, holding up two new passports in her hand. She looked victorious and waved them in your faces.

“It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do, but I did it!”

“You really are the brightest witch of our age, Hermione,” said Draco.

“Thank you, Draco,” she said, looking mighty pleased. You moved away from Draco and surprised Hermione by wrapping your arms around her neck.

“Thank you,” you said softly, feeling a knot form in your throat. “Thank you for helping.”

She chuckled, hugging you close. “Of course, anything for Draco and you. You’re our friend now, and we help out friends whenever we can.”

Draco hugged Hermione from behind you, sandwiching you between their bodies and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Hermione shot him a wink before she smirked.

“Hey, Y/N, did Draco tell you that I punched him during our third year at Hogwarts?”

You heard Draco groan from behind you. “No way!” you exclaimed. “Why?”

“He was a little asshole,” Hermione said with a laugh. “I think I broke his nose.”

Draco scowled at her. “You barely bruised it.”

You chuckled and turned to him, nudging his side. “I still stand by what I said.”

“What?”

“You’re a spoiled, prissy brat.”

Hermione scoffed. “He really is. Spends two hours every day getting ready, and that is when he’s visiting the market.”

“Oh, hush up, Granger!”

You shared laughs with Hermione as Draco continued to glower at the two of you. Finally, Hermione playfully punched his arm and told him to lighten up, to which Draco answered with a roll of his eyes. Hermione winked at you and excused herself from the room, leaving the passports with you.

Whistling lowly as you looked them over, you couldn’t help but to agree with Draco. It took a great deal of magic to be able to pull of passports that looked truly authentic. Handing them to Draco, he carefully tucked them into the inner pocket of his jacket and you exited the study together to a room full of friends and Draco’s parents.

After saying goodbye and promising to keep in constant touch, Harry handed you a wad of cash that not only included British currency, but also money from your homeland. You gave him a teary smile and hugged him, thanking him for everything he had done. He merely brushed you away, clearly embarrassed by how much you were flattering him. He never quite got used to the attentions he constantly received.

Once Narcissa had hugged you both tightly, Lucius finally pulled her away and nodded. Draco swallowed thickly, willing the tears away, and you felt the pang of grief that jabbed at his chest. And you knew that Draco thought he’d never come back.

Grabbing his hand, your fingers interlaced and your soulmate turned to you with a shaky smile. You winked at him and thought of the building Harry had shown you just a few minutes ago: Heathrow Airport.

You appeared in a lonely alley and stumbled forward, Draco catching you before your face hit the concrete. Meeting eyes, you smiled at each other and shared a quick kiss before straightening up. Glancing around, you figured you had apparated close to the airport and exited the alley.

Sure enough, a long line of taxis led straight to the airport’s main entrance and you were soon choosing your country’s most popular airline. Right after you purchased your tickets, Draco and you made your way through the checkpoints, all the while Draco grumbling about how unsanitary it was for him to walk barefoot on that filthy floor.

Once you were in the waiting area adjacent to the gate where the plane would be leaving from, Draco slumped down on a seat and you turned to him upon feeling a pang of nervousness hit you. There was sweat beading on his forehead and his breaths seemed a little strained. You reached for his hand.

“What’s wrong?”

Draco was about to answer you when a series of screams and exclamations were heard. You felt your blood ran cold as you saw a whole throng of people approach you at a rapid pace.

 

Gripping your hand tightly, Draco held his breath as he watched them pass by, not giving either of you a second glance.

“We’re going to miss our flight if we don’t hurry!” screeched one of them, dragging their luggage behind them.

And they were gone just like that. Draco felt himself deflate and he met your eyes. You shared a chuckle, Draco groaning and pulling his head back to rest on the chair. You did the same, leaning your own head on his shoulder.

Draco’s cheek pressed against your forehead, he squeezed your hand. “Want to hear a confession?”

You made a small noise to let him know you were listening.

“I hate flying,” he admitted.

“B-But—” you pulled back to look at him with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t you play Quidditch and all that sort?”

“I do! Wait—When did I tell you that?”

“Draco, I had to use a cast because you broke your arm when we were around ten.”

He cringed at this. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s not important.” You waved his apology away. “You’re scared of flying on an airplane?”

“It’s not common in the wizarding world, if you haven’t noticed!’

“But—”

“It doesn’t make sense!” he protested. “This gargantuan machine suspended in the middle of the air without magic!”

You snorted, not being able to stop yourself from laughing. You leaned over and pressed your face against Draco’s shoulder. “If you think about it, magic doesn’t make any sense either.”

“Yes, it does!”

“No, it doesn’t,” you said. “Science and technology make more sense than magic.”

He scoffed. “You’re barmy.”

You could only laugh and shake your head. Draco was as unpredictable as he was predictable. When you thought you knew him, he surprised you and this thought came with the realization that you had only known him for less than two days. You squeezed his arm, commanding his attention. He turned to you with a raised brow, eyes curious.

You shrugged. “I was just thinking… Two days ago, we didn’t know each other.”

Draco smiled. “And here I’m running off with a complete stranger.”

You knew it was a joke, but you went along with it nonetheless. “I know! I mean, I could be a serial killer, lure you into another country and everyone back at your home would be none the wiser.”

He gave a loud bark of laughter at this. “I’m shaking in my boots now.”

“Liar,” you mumbled, glancing down at his feet. “You’re not wearing boots.”

This made him laugh even harder and he had significantly relaxed by the time you were called to board the airplane. Being that Harry had handed you more than enough money and you thought Draco would highly appreciate it, you had bought first-class tickets.

Sure enough, when you were boarding, Draco glanced down the aisle at the business class and wrinkled his nose. “We’re not gonna be riding there, are we? We’re staying here, right?” He gestured towards the first-class seats, which were sort of cocoons and could easily fit two people if they cuddled up just right.

You looked at him with raised eyebrows before cracking a smile. “Yeah, Draco, we’re staying in first class.”

He smiled victoriously and leaned towards you to read the seats you had been assigned. Once located, you took your own ‘cocoons’ and Draco basically draped himself over his.

“This could make flying a little easier,” he said, sliding his hand over the seat, clearly impressed.

You could only roll your eyes. “Prissy brat,” you muttered. Draco only winked at you.

Once everyone had boarded the plane and the pilot had thanked everyone for choosing that specific airline, you put on your seatbelts and prepared for takeoff. Draco was biting his lower lip quite brutally and you clicked your tongue at him.

“Draco, we’ll be fine,” you said, despite feeling the downright terror he was feeling. You hoped that somehow your own relaxed emotions would help him ease up.

He took a deep breath. “As soon as those seatbelt signs are off, you’re coming here,” he told you, pointing at the tiny space next to him.

“Draco, we don’t fit there!”

He smirked. “Are you forgetting who we are? I’m quite adept at the extendable charm, if my closet is any evidence of that.”

You chuckled, but still agreed that you’d crawl into Draco’s seat once you were high up in the air and the airplane steadied itself.

Sure enough, once the pilot announced that the airplane was on its way back to your home country, Draco sat up from his laid-back position and motioned for you to go to him. You narrowed your eyes at him.

“Why don’t you come here, hm?” you asked with a raised brow.

He huffed and promptly got out of his seat and strode over to yours. You laughed as he plopped down, half of his weight on you. Draco grinned and before you knew it, he had somehow accommodated the two of you to fit inside comfortably, whispering a spell and covertly waving his wand in the middle of all the moving. The seat became large enough to fit the two of you and Draco wrapped his arms around your frame, fitting you against his chest.

With his fingers under your chin, he pulled your head back to face him and he gave you a smirk before he captured your lips in a deep, passionate kiss. You immediately responded, kissing back with fervor and feeling that hunger for him take ahold of you once again. It had been somewhat mitigated due to everything happening around you, but now that you and Draco were up in the air with no threats around, you gave in to his touch, the feel of his lips against your own.

His body fit yours like a puzzle, hands exploring the valley of your waist and width of your hips. He squeezed your backside to him and you couldn’t stifle the groan as your pelvises pressed together. Draco was hard and pulsing already and you could feel the excitement thrumming through his veins.

He kissed a trail from your lips, across your jaw, and to your ear, nibbling on the earlobe. “I put a silencing charm around us,” he whispered, licking at the shell of your ear. You couldn’t help but to moan out his name and Draco felt himself pulse in his pants.

He let his hand wander up to your chest, squeezing one of your breasts and expertly finding the nipple through the fabric. You sighed in bliss as he slid your blouse up your torso, along with your bra. His head ducked and he took your breast into his hot, wet mouth. Your back arched as Draco sucked, tongue flicking against the nub.

“D-Draco…”

Draco only moaned, his hand drifting down your body as he continued to suckle on your nipple. Deftly undoing the button of your jeans, he pulled the zipper down and slid his hand inside. You were already slick and he gave a guttural groan as his fingers stroke down your folds.

You gave a short laugh. “A-Are we about to—”

“Shag on an airplane? Absolutely,” Draco growled, biting down on your nipple and making you hiss, pressing your chest further against his mouth.

His thumb began to work circles around your hard clit and soon, he had you thrusting up against his hand in search of more friction. Easily, he slid a finger inside you and quickly found your sweet spot.

Draco’s head lifted and he pressed his mouth to yours, swallowing the cries of pleasure that were falling from your lips as he brought you to your orgasm.

You fell back against the seat in sated content, but still hungry for more. By now, Draco’s hand had left you and was unbuttoning his slacks. You moaned as he pulled himself out, the tip glistening with pre-come. Draco stroked himself, his hand wet with you. This action made you grow even wetter and you quickly pulled down your jeans and underwear until you could open your legs for him.

At the sight of your debauched position, Draco groaned. “Bloody fuck…” he growled, voice raspy and deep. The sound made shivers run throughout you and you pulled his face to you, kissing his lips passionately.

Your tongues licked at each other as Draco’s hand gripped behind your thigh and brought your leg to wrap around his waist. You reached down and wrapped your fingers around his length, stroking him a few times and relishing in the moans that you elicited from him. This was the most beautiful you had seen Draco and you knew you’d never get tired of it.

Gasping into each other’s mouths, you guided the tip of his cock to your wet entrance and sunk down on him. Your moans were simultaneous and you felt a surge of excitement at the thought that all around you were people that had no idea what was going on.

Draco’s hips snapped forward, completely sheathing himself inside your warm, tight body. His cry of pleasure made you groan and you exchanged deep, wet kisses as he began to fuck you in earnest. It was hungry, fast, and messy, nothing like you’d imagine your first time to be with Draco, but it was more than you had imagined as well.

Draco somehow knew what made you come undone and without much of an effort, he had found an angle that enabled his cock to slam into your sweet spot with almost every thrust. Soon enough, he had you teetering on the edge of another orgasm and you felt his hand slide down between your bodies and begin to rub your clit to the rhythm of his hips.

You raked your nails down his back as you moaned out his name, your lips gasping against Draco’s. He urged you on, cock filling you up to the brim, fingers never faltering in their rhythm on your clit.

Your body jerked and you whimpered as you gave into the burst of pleasure. Your toes curled as your walls began to spasm, the waves of pleasure overwhelming you. Draco continued to move inside you and rubbed at your clit until you swatted his hand away. He smiled at this and wiped his hand on his opened slacks before he cupped your jaw.

“I-I—” he moaned out, emotion laced in his voice.

“Come for me, Draco,” you gasped, kissing his lips and across his jaw. Draco continued thrusting into you, searching for his own pleasure as you continued to whisper into his ear. His body stiffened briefly before his hips took on a wild pace and you felt him pulsate before he emptied himself inside you, pressing deep.

You kissed for long minutes after that, chests heaving and hands wandering. Still joined, Draco didn’t pull himself away despite the mess between your bodies. Instead, he gathered you up in his arms and kissed you deeply, tongue exploring the inside of your mouth languidly.

Only when you announced that you had to use the bathroom, did Draco finally moved away from you, pulling out from inside you. You gasped at the sensation and he shivered, leaning into you and kissing you once again. This turned into another few minutes of kissing until you could stand it anymore and claimed your bladder was going to explode if you didn’t visit the bathroom soon.

Draco laughed and waved his wand over your soiled clothes as you straightened them up. Soon, you were looking as if you hadn’t just been fucking your boyfriend in the middle of a public place and you shot him a wink as you climbed out of your seat and towards the restroom.

Once you were back, Draco was presentable once again, and half asleep, his head leaning back on the headrest. He smiled as you got back into the seat, easily fitting you inside his hold. Cupping your cheek, he pressed your head to his chest as his eyes fluttered closed. You followed suit and fell asleep in his arms.

Draco was roused hours later when he jerked awake from a nightmare. It wasn’t like the ones that had plagued him for all his adult life. No, now you were in this one and your life was in danger and Draco was too far away from you to do anything.

Glancing down at your sleeping form, Draco pulled you close to himself and pressed a kiss to your forehead, promising himself that he’d let nothing happen to you. Your left arm was draped around his waist and Draco’s eyes caught the black ink against your skin. He inhaled sharply and turned your arm to look down at it.

He swallowed thickly, knowing he would have to tell you everything soon. You deserved to know.

Just as you were beginning to stir, the pilot came on the overhead speaker and announced that you’d be landing soon. You sleepily groaned and pulled away from Draco to stretch yourself. Draco looked on with tenderness in his eyes, leaning over and kissing the tip of your nose.

“You’re beautiful,” he said, voice soft.

You felt your face grow hot and shoved at his shoulder, prompting a laugh from him. “Get back to your seat,” you muttered.

Draco grinned and kissed you one more time before heeding your words, walking back to his seat. He kept his eyes on you the whole time, gaze full of meaning that you had yet to decipher. You had half a mind to ask him when the plane landed and you were being ushered out of the plane.

Draco followed your lead as you walked into the building and towards customs. You made the long line and tried to quell down your nerves as you waited to be called. Not only were your passports not authentic, but Draco didn’t exist in the No-Maj world. There was a huge possibility that they wouldn’t let him through.

“Next!” called out the customs officer.

You swallowed thickly and hooked your hand around Draco’s elbow, pulling him with you as you approached the glass case.

An elderly man with kind eyes greeted you, holding out his hand for your passports. He barely looked at yours as he saw that it belonged to the country and quickly stamped it before focusing on Draco’s.

His brow furrowed as he placed it under the scanner before retrieving it and ruffling through the pages. His eyes darted up to look at Draco before looking back down at the passport.

“Is everything alright, sir?” you asked him.

 

The man looked up at you with a raised brow and suspicious eyes. Yet he didn’t answer your question, instead he turned towards Draco. “Sir, would you mind accompanying me, please?”

He was in the middle of getting up on his feet when you swallowed thickly and called out to seize his attention. Once you had established eye contact, you muttered the Confundus Charm. The man blinked and his suspicions vanished, having been replaced by confusion.

You smiled politely at him. “Sir, you forgot to stamp his passport,” you said. “Everything is alright.”

The man continued blinking as he sat back down on his chair, clearly muddled about what had just happened. But he still nodded and reached for the stamp. Opening Draco’s passport, he branded it before sliding it forward to Draco.

“Welcome,” he muttered out, his brain still a mess.

You nodded and thanked him for everything before grabbing Draco’s hand and pulling him along with you. Once you were out the doors and walking towards the luggage area, you let yourself breathe. Draco looked just as nervous as you, his face pale and lips chalk-white.

You laughed dryly. “Almost.”

He shook his head. “I-I froze on the bloody spot!”

“I got you,” you said with a wink, still a little shaky from everything. Draco gave you a grateful smile and kissed your lips briefly.

“Now, are you going to stick my arse into a cab to go somewhere, or can we now utilize magic again to move around?” Draco asked with a raised brow.

You couldn’t help the scoff. “You’re too used to magic, you know that? We _should_ take a cab…” You paused to laugh at his disgusted reaction. “But! We won’t. We’ll go to the nearest disapparation point and apparate in front of my parents’ house.”

“You live with your parents?” he asked.

“Yeah, but I’m pretty sure we won’t be staying with them. It’s better if we stay somewhere else.”

“Oh, where would that be?”

“In the country.”

“The middle of nowhere?”

“Is there a problem with that?”

Draco shook his head, a smirk blooming on his face. “Not at all. Being alone with you—How can I complain against that? I’d be off my trolley.”

You laughed softly, sliding your hand into Draco’s and leading him out of the airport building and across the busy streets. Ignoring the honks of the disgruntled taxi drivers that had to brake at the last second to let you cross the street, you arrived towards an empty alley about a block away from the airport’s main entrance.

“Excited to meet my parents?” you asked Draco with a wink.

He swallowed thickly and you felt the nervousness that he suddenly felt. Yet Draco still tried to seem unaffected as he nodded his head. “Of course!”

“You can’t lie to me, remember,” you said, raising a brow. Draco glared at you, causing you to giggle and kiss his lips quickly. “You’ll be fine. They’ll love you.”

Draco mumbled something unintelligible as you set your mind to thoughts of your home and everything around you disappeared in a whirl. In the blink of an eye, the house you grew up in was right before you and you smiled widely as you realized that you had never thought to come back alongside your soulmate. And yet he was here, standing next to you.

Reaching for Draco’s hand, you intertwined your fingers as you met his eyes. “Welcome,” you said sincerely.

Draco couldn’t help the smile from appearing on his lips as he felt the pure, unadulterated elation you were feeling in that very moment. Despite everything that had transpired, all the obstacles that had been created by Draco’s utter foolishness, you were still together and happy at that.

In that very moment, Draco was convinced that he could face just about anything if he had you beside him. Yet it was you that he feared facing the most. You and what you’d think once Draco told you what had transpired as he was growing up, about the decisions he had made, and how he had hurt those around him in what he thought was a fight to survive. Draco swallowed thickly and you turned to him with a worried glance.

“Draco…”

He looked at you and quirked a brow. “Pardon?”

You squeezed his hand. “Are you okay?”

Just as you were about to ask after his well-being once again, the front door of your house swung opened.

Your father called out your name, happiness and surprised etched on his face. You turned to him and quickly sobered up, letting yourself smile widely as he took you in his arms.

Your mother was right behind him and you shared an embrace with her before they pulled away and trained their eyes on Draco. And you could feel how nervous he was feeling facing the two people that had raised you.

Draco gave them a polite smile, bowing his head respectfully.

Your father stepped up and held his hand out. Draco swallowed thickly and tried not to focus on the fact that his hand was sweating, instead gripping your dad’s hand firmly and shaking it. Your mom came next and she wrapped Draco in a hug. Draco couldn’t hide his surprise, but he quickly returned the embrace.

“Draco, these are my parents,” you introduced. “Dad, mom, this is Draco,” you paused before smiling and reaching for Draco’s hand. “Draco is my soulmate.”

Your mom gave a tiny exclamation of surprise before she clapped her hands and proceeded to loop her arm through Draco’s. Before anyone could say otherwise, she was pulling him into the house and was offering him everything to eat under her roof. You laughed at this, remaining behind them with your father.

Unlike your mom, your dad was more observant and didn’t let himself go with his emotions. He studied Draco as he was pulled by your mom, who couldn’t stop fawning over such a handsome man. Your dad turned to you with a cocked eyebrow.

“What are you doing here?”

You worried your teeth at your bottom lip and turned to him, giving a shrug. “I wanted you to meet him.”

“You left barely three days ago,” he stated.

“I was eager.”

He scrutinized you and you couldn’t help but to feel small before his gaze. Despite his loving nature towards you, you still respected your dad very much and could barely lie to him. He knew you too well. “Something happened,” he said, sure of his words. “What was it?”

Before you could reply, your mother called out after the two of you, asking if you were up for a cup of coffee. Draco was already sitting down on a chair your mom had summoned from the living room into the kitchen and he met your eyes, giving you a nervous glance. You had to laugh, despite feeling just how anxious he was.

Once the coffee was served, you sat around the small table your parents kept in a corner of the kitchen, and your parents began to ask after Draco. Where had he been born? Who were his parents? You smirked and nudged Draco’s side before informing them that Draco was apparently rich and spoiled. Draco shot you a quick glare that he hoped your parents hadn’t noticed, but despite his best efforts, they had and your mom laughed softly.

“He grew up in a Manor,” you told them.

“Y/N,” whined out Draco.

“What? It’s cool! Almost no one grows up in a Manor, Draco,” you said, laughing as you rubbed a comforting hand on his forearm. “How many rooms does it have, anyways?”

He looked pained for a second and you widened your eyes.

“No way. Are there too many to count?”

“Some don’t get visited for decades,” he admitted. “I don’t think I’ve been inside _every_ room.”

“You’re kidding,” you scoffed.

Draco shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. “It’s not all that great. It gets lonely at times. Three people and too many ancestral portraits to count. I can’t stand it most of the time, not when it reminds me of—”

Draco stopped short before he could say anything else and an awkward silence settled over the room. You reached for his hand and squeezed it, giving him a comforting smile. Your parents cleared their throats and after declaring that Draco was welcomed to stay over for as long as he wanted, they retreated from the room, leaving you alone with him.

He was looking down at his lap, fingers fidgeting and breaths a little shortened. You were taken back to when you had gotten back to Harry’s home and Draco thought he’d be going back to Azkaban. There was terror and panic in his eyes and he shut them tightly, breathing deeply through his nose.

“I’m sorry I prodded,” you whispered, rubbing your palm across Draco’s shoulders comfortingly.

He shook his head. “No need to apologize,” he said with a strained smile. “You don’t know—I’m just… I will be okay.”

Turning to you, he leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to your lips. You sighed into it and wrapped your arms around his neck. Draco’s arms found their place around your waist and you shared kisses for a few more minutes before you pulled away and asked if he wanted to go to your room.

Draco perked up at your words and he grinned. “Of course!”

You rolled your eyes. “It’s not a big deal.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” he said, winking.

Draco followed you up to your room quite eagerly and proceeded to explore everything. He marveled over the pictures you kept on your dresser and picked them up one by one, starting with one where you were barely five years old.

“You were so cute,” he mused, tracing a fingertip over your face on the photograph.

“Were?”

Draco scoffed, putting the photo down and picking up one in which you were surrounded by friends. He quirked a brow at the guy next to you, who had his arm wrapped around your waist and your head on his shoulder. He was looking down at you whilst you looked at the camera with a big smile.

“Who’s this?” he asked, jealousy slipping into his voice.

You snorted through your nostrils. “That’s Mateo,” you replied.

“Boyfriend?”

“Ex.”

Draco wrinkled his nose. “I’m _much_ better looking than him.”

You gave him a playful smile. “Really? Are you sure?”

He huffed indignantly at this. “Oh, there is no doubt about that. Look at him! And look at me!” Draco pointed at his reflection in the mirror. “There is absolutely no comparison. I’m a god.”

This made you laugh quite loudly, to which Draco rolled his eyes yet smiled despite himself. He tried to look serious as you continued to clap your hands in glee, but your peals were contagious and soon, Draco was laughing along.

Yelping in surprise as he pounced on you, you fell in a heap on your bed, Draco’s fingers digging into your sides. Draco laughed as you tried to squirm away, but he held you down and continued his attack.

He only stopped when your leg came too close to his crotch and you threatened that you’d pee on him. He pulled back, laughter still emanating from him, and relaxed back onto the array of pillows you kept on your bed.

Picking up a teddy bear, Draco wiggled it about before settling it on his lap. “Did Mat-whatever give you this?”

Another snort left your lips. “No. He gave me that,” you said, pointing at a large stuffed dog sitting at the far corner of your room.

Draco’s smile fell and he scrutinized the stuffed animal as if it had done Draco a horrible wrong.

Before he could say anything about you keeping the Valentine’s day gift your ex-boyfriend had given you, you crawled over to Draco until you were lying next to him. Gripping his chin, you turned his face towards yours and kissed him deeply.

And Draco forgot about everything else except the taste of you.

A few hours later, Draco had charmed your closet to fit some of his clothes inside. You shook your head as he struggled to choose which outfits to hang and which to leave inside your purse. When he was finally somewhat satisfied with what he had chosen, your mom called you down for dinner.

“Draco, are you staying here?” she asked as you stepped into the dining room.

Draco nodded. “Yes. Thank you for opening your doors and allowing me to stay,” he said sincerely.

Your mom shot him a smile as she waved her wand and the food began to float into the room before finding their respective places on the table.

Once everyone sat down and the food was served, conversation began to flow. Everything was going well until your dad cleared his throat and his eyes fell on Draco’s left forearm.

Around you, Draco had learned that he wouldn’t be judged about the Dark Mark. But he felt incredibly smart when your dad leaned forward and asked Draco. “So, tell me about that tattoo. What does it mean?”

“Dad!” you screeched out.

Draco felt his stomach drop.

 

A long, awkward silence settled over the room. Your dad kept his gaze on Draco, firm and unrelenting, expecting an answer. You could feel the nerves on Draco, his fingers tight around the eating utensils in his hands.

Draco opened his mouth to finally reply when your mom spoke up. “Dear, don’t do that to the poor boy. I’m sure it was something he did as a teenager,” she said, giving Draco a pitying look.

Draco gave her a tiny smile. “It’s not something I’m proud of, no. I regret it every day.”

“You see!”

“But it doesn’t have a particular meaning?” your dad inquired, feeling a little victorious as Draco fidgeted in his seat. Even though Draco was your soulmate and you were bound to him for the rest of your life, your dad felt it was his duty to watch out for you, care for you, and protect you. And despite Draco being poised and elegant, there was something slightly off about him, a certain feeling about him that set your father on edge.

“It was—” Draco swallowed thickly, dabbing at the corners of his mouth with the cloth napkin that had been resting on his lap. He set the fabric down slowly and tapped his fingers on the tabletop. A nervous smile flickered over his lips and you wanted nothing more than to change the subject, but you knew your dad, he’d want to know everything. You were his only child and he was set on protecting you, even from your own soulmate.

“Were you pressured into it?”

Draco gave a minute shake of his head. “It was the wrong choice,” he said. “But my own choice after all.”

“Hm,” your dad replied. And despite wanting to prod some more, he felt like he had tortured the poor boy enough. He leaned back on his chair and smiled politely, bringing a bite of food up to his mouth. “Enough of that, though. Have you ever been to this part of the globe, Draco?”

Draco visibly relaxed at the change of subject and answered with a smile. “No, sir.”

“Oh, well, Y/N should take you out for some sight-seeing!” your mom exclaimed. “We have some of the prettiest beaches here and you must meet her friends!”

Draco raised a brow at this and turned to you with a smirk. “I’d love to meet them!”

“You must Floo them, darling!” your mom said, looking at you with a smile. “See if you can go out tomorrow! And show Draco around.”

You nodded, still a little shaken from what the conversation that had emerged from your father’s curiosity. “Yeah,” you said slowly, blinking and focusing your eyes on your mother. “I was thinking we go to the beach tomorrow and sight-seeing the following day.”

“Oh, you will love it, Draco,” she said.

Despite the tension still present in the room, the rest of dinner went by relatively fast. Draco politely answered every question and promised to one day bring his parents around to meet yours.

Plates were gathered, Draco helping your mother put everything away and clean it all, giving you a wink as he waved his wand around. Within seconds, everything was back in its place and you scoffed, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Sometimes, it’s good to do things the long way,” you said.

“Right,” Draco nodded, kissing your cheek. “But you forget I’m a rich, prissy brat. I do no such labor.”

This made you scoff, pushing at his shoulder. Draco laughed and wrapped you in a tight hug. He kissed your temple before pressing his forehead against yours. “Thank you,” he said softly. “Just a few days and I don’t know what I would do without you.”

With a quirked brow, you smiled proudly at him. “That’s what I strive for. To be an essential part of you.”

“You’ve always been, though,” he said, looking away from your eyes. He swallowed thickly. “Which is why I couldn’t—I wouldn’t put you in the middle of it all.”

“Draco, I was halfway across the world. Nothing could have happened to me.”

“I didn’t know that! For all I knew, you could have been—And I… I couldn’t have lived with myself if something happened to you.”

Letting a sigh escape your lips, you nudged Draco’s side and gave him a smile. “But nothing did and now we’re here, so we should enjoy that.”

He assented and pressed his lips to yours briefly before pulling away. Just then, your parents announced they would retreat to their room for the night and bid you both a good night.

Draco turned to you with a smirk and a quirked brow, you mirrored the expression and belted out a surprised laugh as he leaned into you and kissed you deeply. Somehow, he managed to lead you up to your bedroom without tripping and slammed the door with the heel of his shoe. Murmuring a spell against your lips, you recognized the words to be that of the silencing charm and you shook your head, but continued kissing your soulmate, letting yourself go with how wonderful and natural it felt to be with him.

The following morning, you woke up to the smell of breakfast wafting through the air. Draco turned to you with a sleepy smile and thumbed your cheek. His foot stroked down your calf as he kissed your nose.

“And you call me a spoiled brat,” he said teasingly.

You cracked an eye opened. “What?”

Draco laughed as you stretched. “Mum still makes you breakfast and you’re here sleeping.”

A snort and you glared at him playfully. “You surely don’t expect me to always cook breakfast for you, do you?”

“Oh, come on, I’m not that antiquated.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Draco laughed and buried his face in your neck, kissing the sensitive skin. You laughed and pulled him away to go to the bathroom, giggling when Draco followed hot on your heels.

Half an hour later, you were stepping into the dining room, where your mom declared that she had been waiting for over twenty minutes and had to put a warming charm over the food so it wouldn’t spoil. Your dad gave her a kiss and thanked her before you all sat down and began to eat.

“Where are you two off to today?” questioned your father, bringing a large bite of pancakes up to his mouth. He began to chew as he looked at you expectantly.

“The beach,” you declared. “We’ll go to the mall quickly to buy Draco some swimming trunks and then we’ll go to the beach.”

Draco felt the excitement singe through you and couldn’t help but to feel the same. With you, he felt as happy as he had ever felt in his life, and not to mention liberated. He had a feeling that he could walk the streets and not be judged with every step he took. You exchanged smiles as you continued eating.

Just as planned, an hour later found you both holding hands as you walked through a shopping mall. Draco allowed you to guide him through the large building until you had arrived to a store that sold only bathing suits. He raised a brow at this.

“They only sell bathing suits?” he asked, thoroughly perplexed.

You nodded, pulling him inside. “Yeah, and I’m sure we’ll find something you like in here.”

In there you learned how truly frustrating your soulmate could be. He wrinkled his nose at almost everything you showed him, assuming a facial expression that looked like he was smelling some disgusting scent and after half an hour of perusing your selections, you raised your arms in the air and declared you gave up.

“You’re impossible,” you said with a shake of your head.

Draco smiled, kissing your cheek. “I’ll just transfigure the slacks I’m wearing right now.”

You momentarily froze at his words before slapping a palm to your forehead. “Of course! Why do we have to buy if—”

“I was going to say something but you looked so bloody happy about going out to the mall, I didn’t want to ruin it,” he said, cheeky grin on his face.

You smacked his shoulder as he laughed, following you out of the store and down the mall’s vast corridors. Once in an isolated place, you took Draco’s hand and apparated to the place you and your family always did whenever you wanted to go to the beach.

Still untouched by man, this beach was located at the far end of the peninsula you lived in. Your father had discovered it when he was in college and had brought your mom there for a date. It became part of your childhood as your parents continued to take you there. And now you were here with Draco.

Waving your wand, a pair of towels, sunblock, and an umbrella emerged from your purse and floated through the air. You settled them down on the sand just a few feet from the water.

All this time, Draco stood frozen, marveling at the white sand and cerulean-blue water. He was only startled from his daze when you brought the sunblock over and demanded he take off his shirt.

Draco crossed his arms over his chest protectively. “Taking advantage of me?”

You smirked before snorting out a laugh. “No, silly. You need sunblock.” You waved the bottle in your hand. “I’m pretty sure that pretty alabaster skin of yours doesn’t take too kindly to the sun.”

“You just want to rub your hands all over me,” he said. “I don’t blame you.”

You remained quiet and only smiled when Draco’s gaze met yours. He chuckled and promptly took off his shirt, neatly folding it as he fished his wand out of his pocket and waved it over his legs. The pants he had been wearing were transformed into a green bathing suit. Draco shot you a wink as he turned around to have his back face you.

Afterwards came your turn and Draco made sure to kiss every inch of your skin before he put sunblock over it. You laughed the whole way through, his lips making tingles and shivers travel throughout your body. Draco’s peals joined yours and once the lotion had dried off, you ran into the water together.

Draco held you close in the water, his lips soon finding yours. You cupped your palm underwater and brought it up over his head, letting the liquid cascade down his face, laughing when he spluttered. As retaliation, Draco splashed you and this began a war that only ended when Draco went under for too long and emerged with a gasping breath. You smacked his shoulder for scaring you and he only chuckled, pulling you close to himself.

“Sorry,” he murmured, his lips just an inch away from yours.

Your fingers carded through his wet hair and down to the nape of his neck, pulling him to you. You kissed for long minutes, the waves creating a peaceful sound as the water kept you steadily moving. Draco’s hands explored your body and you gasped against his mouth as he took your buttocks in his hands and squeezed. He grinned and rolled his hips, groaning at the contact this provided when he pressed to the crux of your thighs.

Draco soon pulled himself out of his bathing suit whilst you simultaneously pulled at the string of your bikini. He was inside you the next moment. You continued to chase your pleasure, rutting against one another, until your body jerked and you let out Draco’s name in a moan. He shivered and bit your bottom lip, his arms squeezing you to his firm body.

“Fuck,” he whispered lowly, voice deep.

You remained motionless for a few seconds, letting the pleasure wash over you. Your foreheads pressed together, Draco kissed you long and deep until you pulled away and shivered.

The sun was setting and the water had gotten colder. Draco shared a smile with you as you took his hand and led him out of the water.

“We’ll shower when we get home, but this will do for now,” you told him, your wand waving over your bodies and drying you up. Yet you could swear that you still felt the stickiness of the saltwater on your skin and couldn’t wait until you could take a hot bath back at home.

Draco’s fingers interlaced with yours once you had gathered everything back up. “I’m famished,” he declared.

“Me, too,” you said. You were always hungry once you got out of swimming for long hours. Your last meal had been in the mall and it had been more than five hours prior. You told Draco you’d pick up Chinese takeout on the way and he nodded, letting you pull him close as you disapparated.

Once you had grabbed the food and Draco offered to take it for you, you headed back home. Slipping the key into the lock, you hadn’t finished unlocking it when it swung open. Your dad stood there, his usually-relaxed stance was long gone and replaced by a nervous aura.

“Come in, quick!” he ordered, pulling you in by your wrist. Draco was quick enough to follow and the door slammed close behind him.

“What happened?” you asked, surprised by his crazed look. Just then your mom emerged from the kitchen and let out a cry.

“Oh, you’re here! I thought something had happened to you!” She rushed over to hug you and Draco close. You exchanged nervous glances with Draco.

“What happened?” you asked again.

“Aurors,” your father replied. “They left just minutes ago. They were looking for the two of you.”

Your heart fell as you felt the utter terror that poured into Draco.

 

“They left,” your dad said, trying to quell the fear he saw in your face. “They thought you were here with us and I had to put my foot down and threaten to give ‘em hell. If not, they would have teared this house apart looking for you.”

“Oh, dad,” you muttered, a hand flying up to your mouth. You could feel the tears prickling at your eyes, making your vision blurry.

“Sir—” Draco stepped up towards your dad. “I’m—”

“What did you two do?” your dad inquired, voice firm and demanding. “You fled Britain. That is quite clear. But why?”

“D-Dad—”

“I want answers!”

Your teeth worked hard on your bottom lip and you were about to step forward and try to explain everything as best as you could with the limited knowledge you had of your soulmate’s past. But then, Draco himself straightened up and his eyes met your father’s.

“As a teenager, I made some very, very grave mistakes,” he spoke, voice on the verge of shaking. You could feel the terror within in, stabbing at every word he said, revealing that despite Draco acting out the role of a brave man, he was terrified. Yet he kept talking. “And I am still paying for these things that I _thought_ I had to do, to protect myself, my family, those I loved.”

“If this happened years ago, why are you fleeing now?” Your dad stared down at Draco accusingly. He was protective of you, he couldn’t help it.

Draco breathed out a dry laugh. “That was a very rash, stupid blunder.”

“Draco—” You put a hand on his forearm. You were willing to tell this part of the story yourself, after all, Draco had just been trying to protect you.

But Draco shook his head at you, silently telling you he’d answer this himself. “We went out and a man went up to Y/N and began to—” Draco paused and clenched his fists, you could feel his anger. “He wasn’t polite to her and spoke to her as if she was a mere object, there for just his pleasure. I saw red and next thing I’m aware, my wand is out and pointed at him. I merely petrified him. In front of Muggles, dare I say. But it was enough for those who have been wanting to destroy me to have sufficient reason to do so.”

There was a long moment of silence in which your father’s gaze never left Draco’s frame. Meanwhile, Draco was staring down at his feet, nervous, terrified, and full of regret all at the same time. He looked like a chastised child and you desired nothing more than to console him.

Your dad sighed deeply. “You were protecting her, and for that I will thank you.”

Draco looked up in surprise, mouth agape. “Sir…”

“You can’t stay here anymore, though,” your dad continued, getting on his feet. “Pack up your things—”

“Dad, you can’t kick Draco out—”

“You are going with him.” He turned to you with a commanding look about him. “The Aurors will be back and we can’t give them a reason to think that you have been here. I’ll be taking you deep into the country. We have a house there. No one knows about it.”

Draco stepped forward and held out his hand. “Thank you, sir,” he said, the relief clearly heard in his voice.

Your father nodded and shook Draco’s hand. He then told you both to get ready and re-pack everything. He would be waiting in the living room to take you into the hideout.

Within a few minutes, you had everything back in your purse and were descending the stairs with Draco. Hugging your mom, you kissed her goodbye before taking your father’s hand as Draco wrapped his arm around your waist.

The next second, you were standing in the middle of a dark space with wooden floors. Your father murmured a spell and the lights began to turn themselves on. It was clearly a cabin, one that hadn’t been inhabited in years. There was dust all about and you could already feel it tickling its way into your nose. You sniffled.

“Your mother and I set this place up as a just-in-case thing,” your dad spoke out, his hand waving over the furniture. The sheets floated above their former resting places and began to fold themselves neatly before finding a corner. There was even more dust and you wrinkled your nose, feeling the beginnings of a sneeze approaching.

With an ease that you admired, your father performed wandless magic and had the place cleaned up within seconds. He clapped his hands and gave you a tight smile before embracing you. Kissing your forehead, he told you that he was just a Floo call away. You nodded and thanked him for everything. Draco did the same, shaking your father’s hand.

The next minute, it was just you and Draco, looking around yet another place you’d be hiding out in. You took a deep breath and noticed that there were no dust particles around to annoy you. At least that was looking up.

“Alright,” you finally said, startling Draco out of his thoughts. “Let’s unpack and I’ll see if there’s any food around. If not, we’ll have to go grocery shopping. Where’s the nearest supermarket? Damn, I didn’t bring my phone—”

“Y/N, we need to talk,” Draco spoke up, interrupting you. You froze and gave him an inquisitive glance. Draco just bit down on his lower lip and offered you his hand. Once you took it, he led you to the nearest couch and sat you down, taking his place right across from you.

“Draco, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me.”

He groaned. “I don’t even know where to start.”

You furrowed your brow. “What?”

“You _need_ to know what’s going on,” he declared. “You need to know why I’m hated with such ferocity. Why some people want to see me in Azkaban for the rest of my life. You need to know!” It sounded as if he was trying to convince himself and you felt hurt tug at your chest for him.

You reached for his hand, giving it a tight squeeze. When Draco didn’t look up to meet your eyes, you tucked fingers beneath his chin and nudged his face up. His grey eyes were full of pain as they met yours.

Draco’s lips parted and the words began to bubble out, slowly at first. But as time passed and Draco’s mind began to visit those memories that seemed like a lifetime ago, the sentences became a flood.

He told you everything he could recall. Being raised to hate those that didn’t come from the same status as him, seeing them as beneath him. He narrated his hatred for Harry, Hermione, and Ron, bullying them, hoping he’d get them killed at some points. He told you about his father, how he had blindly followed such a monster, given him his loyalty, opened the doors of his home for him, and the terror that Draco had experienced in having that wizard in his home.

He told you about the night he got the Dark Mark and you felt repulsion surge through you for the horrible symbol you had etched on your skin. Draco couldn’t help the tears as he told you how he thought he was protecting his parents from certain death by agreeing to kill a wizard considered to be one of the greatest, someone who was willing to help him; yet he was sacrificing his own humanity, his chance at redemption and forgiveness.

He continued, telling you that despite the darkness enveloping him and death knocking at his door, he somehow braced himself to lie in front of this terrible wizard, and had protected Harry from being recognized. He narrated how painful it was to hear Hermione screaming as she was tortured by Bellatrix, letting you know that a day didn’t pass in which he didn’t regret not having helped her out, taken the torture himself, or just hurt his aunt for harming Hermione in such a way.

Your tears brimmed over as Draco went on to say that despite the light being offered to him, he still refused to budge, sticking to the way he was raised. He met Harry, Hermione, and Ron in the Requirement Room back in the school they had attended. His voice broke as he described the ferocity of the Fiendfyre, his friend falling into the flames, and Harry’s hand gripping him hard and rescuing him before that same horrible fire swallowed Draco up in flames.

Draco was taken to trial. People wanted him to spend the rest of his days in Azkaban, others wanted him to suffer the same fate of their relatives, to die at the end of a wand pointed straight at his heart. Yet Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley all stood up and defended him. These three people Draco had wanted to harm for most of his life, they had seen good in Draco and fought for him.

And being that the Golden Trio, as they were known, had just saved wizarding Britain from sure destruction, their words heavily tipped the scale in Draco’s favor. He was let out on probation, but all eyes were on him.

Draco learned to keep his head down, shut his mouth, and tried his best to clean up the mess his family had made of their reputation and last name. It had taken years, and even though he had befriended the Trio at the end, it still wasn’t enough for some rancorous folks. They still blamed Draco and his kind for the evil things that had transpired years ago, and what Draco had done at the nightclub only gave them more leverage.

Taking a long, deep breath, Draco hung his head. “That’s what happened,” he said, voice fragile and on the verge of breaking. “I-I am—You’re so pure and you don’t deserve me as your soulmate. I don’t deserve your love, nor your care, your pity. And I could feel how pure and happy you were when you tried to communicate with me all those years ago. I didn’t want to taint that, didn’t want to tarnish you in a way that could become irreparable to you. And yet I have, only one goddamn day with me and you’ve gone through hell already.”

“Draco—”

“I’m not worth all of this.” He waved his hands around. “I’m a stranger to you. I’m a horrible person who _should_ be rotting in a cell now, but because of my friends I’m here, talking to you, feeling you, loving you. And I shouldn’t. I don’t deserve such good things when those who died because of me never got to experience it.”

You couldn’t stand it anymore and clapped a hand over his mouth. Draco’s eyes widened and you almost quirked a smile at this. He looked almost comical. But a dark cloud seemed to loom over the room and you took a deep breath.

You didn’t feel any hatred towards Draco. But he had hit some nerves as he talked. Your soulmate had hated people like you, like your parents. Even if he didn’t in the present day, he had still thought of you as someone who had dirty blood. The thought made you recoil from him and Draco felt the repulsion jab at you, his eyes widening before hurt overtook them.

Quickly getting on your feet, you knew you had to go somewhere else, had to be far away from him to be able to think clearly. Being so close to Draco, you could feel every one of his emotions and they all jumbled up with your own, making it extremely hard to sort through everything and think for yourself.

You cleared your throat, keeping your eyes on the floor and away from Draco’s own. Without chancing him another glance, you walked into the kitchen and quickly determined that there was no food to be found.

“I’m going to go to the grocery store,” you announced, willing your voice to not break.

Draco appeared by the doorway of the kitchen. “I will go with you.”

“No,” you said, feeling the hurt that stabbed at Draco as you said the word. “I want to go alone.”

“V-Very well,” he stammered out. The hurt was clear in his voice, his gait as he walked back to the living room. You shut your eyes tightly and told yourself that being away from Draco for a bit would benefit you, and spun on your heel, disapparating.

You apparated in an empty alley adjacent to the grocery store you frequented. Clasping a hand to your mouth, you couldn’t help the tears this time. Bending at the waist, you sobbed yourself hoarse, your mind racing at a thousand miles per second. You could still feel Draco’s emotions, but it was as if they had been dampened by the distance.

For long minutes, you remained there, crouched over, tears falling and shattering on the concrete. And it was as if Draco had let go of you and had let you fall until you yourself had hit the ground and splintered into pieces, pieces that you knew only Draco could put back together and you didn’t know if you’d ever let him. You couldn’t. Not when he had unknowingly hated you so much.

And yet…

And yet the Draco that had stood before you these past three days was not the same Draco that had been in these horrible stories. This Draco was loving, kind, laughed easily and didn’t see you as someone beneath him, but an equal. Yes, he was hurting and most likely thought he didn’t deserve the forgiveness his friends offered him daily, but he was a far cry from the boy Draco had told you about.

Taking a deep breath, you straightened up and swiped at your wet cheeks, feeling the tears recede. In that moment, you knew. Draco deserved your forgiveness. Yes, he had made the wrong choices, but at the same time, he had no other choice. He had been cornered into thinking he was doing the right thing for a cause that wasn’t his to choose, but had been ingrained in him since he had been born.

You used a refreshment spell to try to not seem as if you had just been crying your eyes out just minutes before, and entered the grocery store. Gathering all the essentials within minutes, you paid for it all and thanked the cashier, stepping out of the establishment and back into the alley. Now that you weren’t focusing on buying food and utensils, your thoughts turned to Draco and you became attuned to his emotions once again.

He was broken. You could feel it, and it tore your heart apart. Holding on tight to the grocery bags, you closed your eyes and pictured the tiny cabin.

The last thing you expected to see was Draco in the middle of the room, kneeling on the floor. His shoulders were shaking and there were tears pooled in front of him. His blond hair was a mess and made a curtain around his slender face.

“D-Draco…”

At the sound of your voice, Draco’s head snapped up and you saw his red-rimmed eyes and tear-stained cheeks. He sobbed out your name.

 

Your arms were around him in the next second, your body making a protective cocoon around him. He cried into your chest, hands like claws, clutching onto your shoulders. You could feel his pain, every ounce of it, and it threatened to rip your chest apart.

And then it dawned on you. Draco thought you were going to leave him.

“I’m right here,” you heard yourself say. “I’m never going anywhere.”

His voice stuttered as he began to murmur “I’m sorry’s” against your chest. They wracked through his chest before bursting out of his mouth, hanging in the air like swords that ended up in your chest, piercing through and making their home there. It hurt you to see him like this and you were reminded of the time you had written to him so long ago, the time that he had rejected you because he thought he was protecting you.

Carding fingers through his pale-blond hair, you rocked your bodies, lips pressed to Draco’s head. He didn’t stop crying for long minutes, just letting your presence slowly soothe him down until his apologies had become just a tiny whimper and you slightly pulled away to assess him.

He met your eyes, his own red and still full of tears. And you couldn’t help but to scoff. “You still have tears? After all that crying!”

Laughter bubbled up into his throat and out his lips as he raised his hand to thumb at your wet cheek. “What’s this you got here?”

“Oh, I’m allergic to something here.”

“I’m sure you are,” he replied, pushing away from you and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands.

You gave him a smile and cupped his chin, turning it so Draco’s gaze could meet yours. “Are you hungry?”

“Famished,” he confessed.

You shared smiles as Draco got on his feet and extended his hand for you to take. Pulling you up to stand, Draco helped you pick up the grocery bags that had fallen to the ground and jokingly apologized for breaking the eggs.

You shrugged. “Take out the shells, we’ll have them scrambled for dinner.”

He cocked a brow. “Aren’t eggs for breakfast?”

“Time is a man-made concept, Draco,” you drawled out as you began to put the rest of the food away. “It doesn’t exist.”

He chuckled at this, but still heeded your words and began to attempt to separate whatever yolk and egg white was left from the shells. At one point, he got exasperated from using only his hands and Accio’d his wand from the other room. He smiled as you rolled your eyes at him, yet continued with his task.

Sitting down across from each other on the dining room table, you ate quietly until Draco had cleared his plate and he put his fork down, wordlessly looking at you.

There was sadness inside of him, re-emerging after an hour of distractions, and you looked up, meeting his glance.

“Draco,” you said, voice soft.

“I was an asshole,” he spoke suddenly. “I was an utterly foolish asshole and I know I don’t deserve you, nor your forgiveness.”

“Draco, stop!” He froze at your sudden outburst and you took a deep breath, reaching across the table for his hand. “You have to stop this. Yes, you did some very bad things, but the people around you have already forgiven you. They have moved past it, they see you for the person you have become, not the person you were. They see this new Draco that I have met and learned to love. Yes! I love you. God, you’re my soulmate. It’s only right that I love you. I have loved you from the first moment I pressed that quill against my arm and wrote to you.

“And you have got to move on, as well. You gotta start forgiving yourself, Draco. Harry, Hermione, and Ron, they all have. Hell, even Molly Weasley and the rest of the Weasley family see you as one of their own. They don’t see a Death-Eater anymore. They don’t see who you were, they see you as you are now. You are remarkable, Draco. And you deserve forgiveness and redemption. And they have done that. In their eyes, you’re just Draco Malfoy, their friend, their brother, even their son. What those other people think, that doesn’t matter. You’re worthy of forgiveness and you have got to start forgiving yourself. Right now.”

He gave a dry scoff. “You make it sound like it’s the easiest thing.”

“It is! Can’t you just—Try looking at yourself the way I look at you.”

“Pardon?”

“Draco, when I see you, when I first saw you, I didn’t see a Death-Eater, or a self-entitled prick undeserving of forgiveness. I saw someone who was eager to protect those he cared for. Hell, you rescued me from that throng of vicious people. And—And you took me in and helped me, regardless of who I was, you didn’t even know who I was. You just took me straight into your home because it was where I could be protected. And you let me stay there until I felt better. Draco, you’re not your 16-year old self anymore.”

“But I—”

“Draco, you need to move on. The world, well most of it, it has moved on. The war, which wasn’t even that big because we haven’t heard of it in this part of the globe,” you scoffed, prompting a tiny laugh from Draco. “The war is over, Draco. Sure, it hurt a lot of people, but time has passed and you are no longer that person. You’re someone wholly different, someone who deserves happiness, who deserves good things. Please, try to see that.”

“I-I—”

“Oh, God, enough!” you snapped, startling him. This made you smile and you got up and strode over to Draco. He looked up at you in confusion before you shot him a smirk and moved to straddle his lap.

Fingers threading through his hair, you pulled his head back and pressed your lips to his in a deep kiss. Draco moaned against it, his arms wrapping around your torso to hold you close to his frame. You continued kissing his lips, suckling on the bottom lip and relishing in the sound of pleasure that it enticed from Draco’s throat.

Smiling against his lips, you moved your kissed across his cheeks, tracing every feature on his face with your mouth. Draco’s eyes fluttered closed at the wonderful sensation and you continued your ministrations, trying to be as soft as you could.

“Try to see yourself through my eyes,” you whispered between kisses. Draco hummed deep in his chest and you tried not to get too ahead of yourself when your eyes flitted down to his lap and saw the bulge there.

“You are so amazing, soulmate,” you said, kissing his lips once again. “And you’re going to have to start forgiving yourself or—”

“You’ll punish me?” he asked, smiling cheekily. “Well, my behavior has warranted a few smacks to the arse, I can’t deny that.”

You snorted in laughter at this and Draco’s peals joined yours at the sheer ridiculousness of his words. It was a few minutes before you could rein in your laughter and by then, your stomach was slightly aching. Draco grinned and squeezed your ass playfully before moving you to sit on the chair next to his.

“Tea?”

You nodded your head and he shot you a wink. “Be right back.”

You tried not to be surprised when he grabbed the tea kettle and filled it up with water before placing it on the stove. He hummed a wordless tune as he turned it on and you raised your eyebrows.

“Wow,” you spoke up. “You know how to work a stove?”

“It’s actually quite astounding what I can learn from just observing,” he said in a joking tone.

“I thought you were staring at my ass the whole time I was cooking.”

“Oh, I was,” he grinned at you. “I’m an incredible multi-tasker.”

This made you laugh and you got on your feet, striding over to Draco. You kissed until the tea kettle whistled and he poured out the hot water as you grabbed a couple of tea bags from the pantry. A few more kisses were exchanged as the tea steeped and you moved into the bedroom to drink your teas and get comfortable for the night.

Draco and you remained in the cabin for the next five months, having minimal contact with your parents. No news came from England and you could feel the sadness that lined your otherwise happy days with Draco. He was elated to be by your side, share his days with you, but you knew that he yearned to be with his family and friends as well.

And he wasn’t the only one. The isolation sometimes rubbed you the wrong way and you ended up fighting with Draco over small things. Yet you both knew that it was because of the unknown circumstances that hovered above your heads that made you both be on the edge.

You had just gotten out a bed and smiled at Draco, thanking him for preparing breakfast, when the doorbell rang. It was a shrilly sound and you were hot on Draco’s heels as he practically flew to the front door.

Wand extended, he looked through the peephole before gasping. Hands scrambling to unlock everything, you wandlessly performed the Alohomora spell and the door swung open.

Your parents, Draco’s parents, Harry, Pansy, Hermione, and Ron, all stood there, sporting beaming smiles.

Draco and you gaped at them, mouths wide opened and expressions boring surprise.

An excited squeal from none other than Narcissa tore through the silence before she jumped and wrapped her arms around Draco’s neck and the spell seemed to have broken. Everyone began to scream as you were swallowed up in embraces, first your parents, then all of Draco’s friends.

After crying and exchanging greetings, you finally moved into the living room and Draco asked the one question that you were both eager to have answered.

“What in the bloody hell are you all doing here?”

“Draco!” Narcissa chastised.

But Draco only laughed and turned to Harry with a curious glance. If anyone had anything to do with this, it was Harry fucking Potter. And he wasn’t wrong.

Harry grinned and clapped his hands. “You owe me the biggest one, mate.”

“What’d do you?”

“It wasn’t easy, but you’re cleared!”

“You’re pulling my leg, Potter.”

“No, _Malfoy_ , I’m bloody well not. You’re off the hook!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

“How?”

Harry sputtered before shrugging and Draco laughed, running into his arms. The men embraced tightly and you felt tears prick at your eyes at the sight of this. You could feel the relief that Draco was going through and it made you so happy. Harry pulled away from Draco and grinned at him.

“You’re free, Draco,” he said.

“Thank you, Harry. But you have to tell me how you did it.”

“There is not much money can’t buy, but that’s not of importance,” said Harry quickly as Draco made to argue. He had already gotten rid of too much trouble by paying off those important enough to keep giving Draco a headache. His friend was free if he behaved himself. But that was a talk for later.

Hermione squealed in happiness as she jumped up from her seat and ran up to embrace them, eliciting groans from them as her arms wrapped tightly around their necks. Everyone laughed at this and your mom got on her feet and clapped her hands, declaring everyone should go back to the house and have dinner together. Narcissa stood up and smiled at her, offering her help. Draco and you exchanged smiles.

It was going to be alright.

The room soon cleared out as everyone disapparated to your home, until only you and Draco were left alone. He reached for your hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing the knuckles. “I love you,” he said, voice breaking.

You gave him a teary smile and wiped at the tears already making their way down his cheeks. Leaning his face into your hand, Draco closed his eyes and let himself relax for the first time in a long time.

He finally felt like he belonged, like he was deserving of the happiness that surrounded him. Sure, doubt and fear still clouded his mind, especially at night, but he still found it unbelievable that you were there to console him, hold him close, and let you know that he was loved despite it all.

“Come on,” he whispered, his forehead pressing against your own. “Let’s go home.”


End file.
